Out From Under
by TEAMxCHARLIE
Summary: Life can change in an instant. One moment, I had everything I ever wanted and then it was all pulled right from under me. All human, Canon pairings.
1. Prologue

**I'm baaack. LOl. So I didn't think I'd be writing a new story so soon but it just wouldn't leave me alone. And here we are. This is a bit different for me, since I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. I'm really excited for this story. Hope you'll like it.**

**Song: Paramore-Decode**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, SM does.**

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It's funny how fast your life can change. One moment, you are happy beyond any reason and the next, it's all pulled from under you. That's what happened to me. I was standing in the middle of the crowded place, feeling more lost that I've ever felt before. People passed me by, hurrying to get to their final destination. I just stood in the middle of a busy station, waiting. What I was waiting for, I had no idea. My bags were on the floor around me, forgotten. I looked up at the schedule. The train to the airport would be arriving in the next five minutes. With a long sigh, I pushed the silly hope away and reached down for my bags. Memories of what had happened in the past week came rushing back and I felt myself shaking a bit. I took a long, calming breath and willed the sadness to go away.

I got a strange feeling as if someone was watching me. I straightened up and looked around, my eyes finally landing on him. It took my head a moment to process the fact that he was actually here. He slowly stepped closer to me, an unsure smile playing on his lips.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in a harsh voice.

"I've come to ask for your forgiveness." He answered simply.

"You mean he sent you!" I said, crossing my hands on my chest.

"Not really. He doesn't know I'm here." He tried to smile but the look on my face stopped him.

"Like I would actually believe that." I spat out. "I think it's a bit late for your apologies."

"I know that, Bella, I know. But if you would just listen to me then maybe you'd…"

"Maybe I'd what? Do you know how much you've hurt me? How humiliated I felt that day? And did you do anything? No! You took his side. You chose him over me, even though we've known each other for much longer!" I realized I was screaming because I noticed people stopping and looking at us. I heard the screech of the breaks, announcing the arrival of the train.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, stepping closer to me. "You have no idea how sorry I am for not believing you. It's just the evidence he had… " He trailed off and reached out to touch me but I took a step back. I grabbed my bags and stepped towards the open doors. "Bella, please don't go. Please, you need to know..."

"I'm sorry, Jasper. It's just too late." I cut him off, swallowing back tears and quickly steeped inside. "Edward shouldn't send other people to fight his battles. If he wanted me, he should've been here." The doors closed and I watched as Jasper stood there, looking more hopeless than before. I felt tears run down my face and made no effort to wipe them away. They were a reminder of everything I've lost.


	2. New City, New Life

**Okay, so since prologue was short and apparently, there was a cliffhanger at the end, here is chapter one. I'll be updating regularly on Wednesdays. Love to hear your thoughts.  
**

**Blue Foundation-As I Moved On**

**Bella: 23**

**Alice: 23**

**Rose: 26**

**Emmett: 26**

**Jasper: 25**

**Edward: 25**

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, Twilight didn't belong to me :(**

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"Oh my gosh, Bella. I can't believe you're actually here!" A very bouncy Alice greeted me at the airport. "I've missed you so much." She crushed me in her embrace.

"I've missed you too, Pixie." I joked, patting her head. The girl was around 4'11 but her personality was a lot bigger. She had jet black hair, which was cut really short and flipped out, and hazel eyes. Her hair used to be longer but in college, she decided to experiment and cut it short. Hence, the Pixie nickname. She moved to Forks when I was five and we became fast friends. Our parents also became close, the product of our close friendship. She was my partner in crime and I was her constant makeover project. Things she's done to me and my closet. But I loved her like a sister and let her get away with it all.

"Is this all you have?" She asked, pointing to my two suitcases.

"Yea. You know me; I don't have that much variety in my closet."

"That's okay. It means we'll have to go shopping." She squealed in delight.

"Whatever you say, Alice." I agreed. I've learned back in the day not to argue with her when it came to shopping. "How's Jasper?" I changed the subject.

"He's good. He's sorry he couldn't come today but Edward needed him to come in at the last minute."

Jasper was Alice's husband. They've met back in high school when Jasper's family moved to Forks. Both of us were sophomores and Jasper was a senior. All it took was a glance and they were inseparable ever since. Jasper was a total opposite of Alice. He had blonde hair and piercing ice blue eyes. He was about 6'1 and towered over Alice. He was also very laid back which complemented Alice's bubbling personality. When the worst thing possible happened to Alice, he was there for her. During our sophomore year, both of Alice's parents died in a car crash. Hales were kind enough to take her in, since there was no one else. I was hard on Alice when Jasper left for college and two years after, she followed him to Chicago. It came as no surprise when Alice called me a few years back to tell me she was getting married. I ended up being her maid of honor and that's how I met Emmett and Rosalie. Turned out, Rosalie was Jasper's sister and was married to Emmett. She was a year older than Jasper and that's why I never met her back in Forks. She looked quite intimidating at first. I mean, with her looks anyone would be intimidated. Rosalie was a tall blond with a body girls would kill for. I swear, she looked like she belonged on the pages of the fashion magazines. I was shocked to learn she was a mechanic and owned her own shop.

At first, I thought she hated me. We barely spoke during the rehearsal dinner. I figures she was a stuck up bitch and decided to follow her example of giving a cold shoulder. It all changed during the reception when a very drunk groomsman cornered me in the hallway. I tried to get away from him but the idiot wouldn't take a hint. Next thing I knew, Rosalie appeared and knocked the poor guy out. I was very impressed-the girl knew how to throw a punch. I thanked her for her help and conversation flowed easily after that. Turns out, Rosalie was shy around new people. I found it hard to believe at first. I mean, the girl was gorgeous. She also confessed that she didn't know how to act around me since I was really close to her brother and Alice. We laughed at our stupidity and been friends ever since that night.

Emmett was a completely different story. We hit it off right away. He was this huge guy with short, curly hair. You wouldn't believe the muscles on this man. Turns out, he was a personal trainer so his appearance made sense. At first, I was a bit scared of him. I mean, I was only 5'4 and he was well over 6 feet tall. I think I gaped at him the first time I saw him. He just laughed and enveloped me in a bone crushing hug. Honestly, Emmett was just a big kid at heart. He reminded me of a big teddy bear and that's what I called him from then on. He loved it and in turn came up with a nickname for me-Jelly Belly. I hated it right away but when Emmett smiled and those adorable dimples appeared on his face, I caved in. He could call me whatever he wanted. Over the years, he shortened my nickname to just Belly.

And then there was Edward. I've never actually met him but I've heard a lot about him. He was Emmett's cousin and Jasper's best friend. The three of them attended college together and opened a business eventually. After a year, Emmett realized that corporate life was not for him and left. So now Edward and Jasper were equal partners in their advertisement company, MH Advertisement. Even though they were both still young, their company was quiet successful. From what I understood, Edward was a total workaholic and he even missed Jasper's wedding. He had to fly overseas to close a deal. I wasn't sure what his wife though about his working hours but didn't think about it any further. It was none of my business.

MH Advertisement was the reason for my move to Chicago. I've graduated last year and was unable to find a job. I majored in Journalism but for some reason, could not find anything in Seattle. During one of my conversations with Alice, I've mentioned the lack of job availability. She called me back a few days later, saying how she had a job for me. Turned out, Edward needed a personal assistant since the last one was fired recently. Alice was certain this was perfect for me. I was doubtful at first. I mean an assistant? Seriously?! But more and more I thought I about it, I came to a conclusion that it wouldn't be that bad. I mean, it's a job that would pay my bills, so who I was to complain. I called Alice right after making my decision. She was thrilled that I agreed. After Jasper spoke to Edward about me, the position was pretty much given to me. Tomorrow's interview would just be a formality.

"So are you excited about tomorrow?" Alice asked once we were on the way to her house.

"I'm kind of nervous." I confessed. I was looking out of the window. There was a bit of snow on the side of the road. This didn't surprise me since it was January.

"Don't worry about it. Jasper put in a good word for you. Plus, Edward's a great guy. A bit demanding but still a good guy. Do you know what you'll be wearing?"

"Ummm, grey slacks and a black dress shirt?" It came out as a question.

"Bella, Bella, Bella." Alice shook her head. "You're a young woman and you need to celebrate that fact. How about some color in your wardrobe?"

"I don't know, Alie." I was hesitant because I knew she was already planning something.

"Here's the deal, Swan. We're dropping your stuff off and then meeting up with Rose at the mall. And don't even try to argue, you know I always win." I sighed, knowing she was right. There was no escaping the pixie. We spent the rest of the ride chatting away and before I knew it, we pulled up in front of a two story colonial house.

"Wow, nice place, Alice."

"Eh, it's alright." She tried to play it off.

"Sure, sure." I rolled my eyes at her. "By the way, have I thanked you for letting me crash here while I look for an apartment?"

"Not today." She laughed.

"Well, thank you." I grabbed my bags from the trunk.

"You're welcome. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't help you out?" She exclaimed.

She opened the front door and showed me to my room. It was on the first floor, towards the back of the house. It had a full bathroom attached which I was grateful for. I could already see me soaking in that huge tub. The room itself was very spacious. The décor was done in light blue color with white bedding. It felt very airy. Alice wheeled my second suitcase in and dragged me towards the exit.

"Are you hungry, by the way?"

"Not at the moment."

"Great! I'll tell Emmett and Jasper to meet us up for dinner." She flipped her phone open and dialed a number. "Hey! Yea, she's here. Listen, meet us at Woodfield. Yea, we're just leaving the house. Oh, and tell Emmett to meet us for dinner. I have no idea, just pick a place. Okay, bye."

She got into the car and I followed. She quickly texted someone, Jasper I assumed, and sped out of the neighborhood. Oh, did I mention Alice drove like a race car driver? Of course, that was nothing compared to Rose. The first time I rode with Rose, I thought I would die. She found it very amusing. We pulled into a huge shopping mall and Alice bounced her way inside. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought she was high on caffeine. I was being dragged towards some store when I heard my name called and turned to see Rosalie making her way towards me. Alice released me from her grip and I ran towards Rose.

"Please, save me!" I begged. "She's on a war path."

"Well, hello to you too, Bella." Rose laughed. "I've missed you too."

"Sorry, but you know how she gets."

"Yea, don't worry. I'll keep her from going overboard."

"It's great to see you, Rose." I said, finally remembering my manners. "You look amazing. You even have this glow about you."

"Really?" She said, lowering her eyes. Something was up. I knew she was hiding something.

"Alright, spill!" I demanded. By now, Alice had joined us.

"Well, okay. We were going to announce it at the dinner tonight but I guess it would be okay to tell you now."

"Quit stalling, Rose." Alice said.

"I'm pregnant!" She exclaimed. Alice and I screamed at the top of our lungs and hugged Rose.

"Oh my goodness, congratulations!" I said.

"I'm going to be an auntie!" Alice was bouncing with joy.

"How far along are you?" I looked at her. She still had her killer body.

"Just three months." Rose beamed.

"Wow, I can't believe it." I was still in shock.

"I hope it's a girl so I can buy her all of the cute little dresses." Alice clapped her hands. "Okay, enough of that. Let's go find Bella some decent clothing."

Five hours later, the three of us emerged from the mall. I've forgotten how bad Alice gets and hoped to never repeat this again.

"Where are we going?" Alice asked Rose.

"Just follow me." She replied, getting into her red BMW. Moments later, we arrived at an Italian restaurant called The Village. We stepped inside and told the hostess that we were with the Hale party. She showed us to our table. Emmett flew out of his seat and easily picked me off the ground.

"Belly!" He exclaimed. "I've missed you so much!"

"Emmett. Can't. Breath." I chocked out.

"Oh, sorry." He gently put me down. "It's just great to see you again."

"You too, Teddy Bear." I winked at him. I stepped to the already waiting Jasper and hugged him. "Hey, Jasper."

"Bella, it's been a while. Great to see you."

"Likewise." I said, breaking our embrace. "Thank you for letting me crash at your place and for the job."

"Not a problem. I'm glad I could help."

"Alright, let's all sit down so we can order." Emmett commanded. Never come between Emmett and food. I've learned that a while back.

We ordered our food and drinks. While waiting for everything to arrive, we launched into conversation, remembering the good old days.

"Bella," I heard Alice call me. "Remember senior prom?"

"Oh, please, don't. I've tried so hard to forget!" I buried my face in my hands.

"Oh come on! I'm sure Mike had the best of the intentions that night."

"Alice, do you not remember his dancing skills? I know I was a klutz back then but he stepped on my feet more times that I could count. I couldn't feel my toes by the end of the night." I heard Emmett's booming laughter carry through the restaurant. I saw people looking back at us and mouthed "sorry". They smiled, letting me know we were forgiven.

"Anyways. So Emmett, I hear congratulations are in order." I looked over to him.

"Yep. Can't wait for the little tyke to come out so I can teach him how to play football." He beamed.

"What if it's a girl?" Rose asked.

"Then she's all yours, babe." Emmett said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Rose shook her head at his logic but said nothing else. I knew if the baby turned out to be a girl, she would have Emmett wrapped around her little finger. I glanced at my watch and realized that it was getting late.

"Hey, I'm sorry to break this up but I have to head back. I still need to unpack everything." I said, taking out money to pay for my bill. I was lucky to have enough cash for both food and a tip.

"Sure thing, Bella. Jazzy, you coming?" Alice stood up, gathering her stuff.

"Yea, I'll see you at home." He walked over and kissed Alice. They were so cute together. I said my goodbyes to Emmett and Rosalie, promising to hang out more, and headed out with Alice.

"Oh, don't worry about your outfit for tomorrow. I already have a perfect one picked out for you." Alice said as we walked into the house.

"Thank you, Alie. What would I do without you?"

"Have a horrible sense of fashion?" She joked. I stuck my tongue out at her. Her laughter filled the house.

We walked into my room and she rummaged through today's purchases. She pulled out a few items before she selected the final outfit. She handed me a cream pair of dress paints and a royal blue dress shirt.

"Where are your shoes?" She asked, reaching for my suitcases.

"This one." I said, unzipping the right one. I only owned about five pairs of heels so it didn't take her long. With a smile, she handed me a pair of black pumps.

"I'm sure you can add some accessories or do you need help with that also?" I nodded, giving her the go ahead. She squealed and rushed upstairs to her bedroom. She came back a few moments later with a long silver chain that had black beads on it and a black clutch. "Here, this will look perfect."

"Thank you, Alice." I heard the front door open and close. "How about you go to your husband?"

"Mkay. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night. Tell Jasper good night for me."

"Will do." She said, closing the door behind her.

I changed into my pjs and went to wash up. After a long day of flying and shopping with the girls, I felt exhausted. I made sure to set my alarm for correct time and lay down on the bed. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out.


	3. First Impressions

**First day of work...what will happen? As always, love hearing what you think about the chapter.  
**

**Amerie-Gotta Work**

**Link that explains different departments in an ad firm (I think it's safe to use Wikipedia in this case): .org/wiki/Advertising_agency#Creative_department**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine :(**

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I was awoken from my slumber by the most annoying noise in the whole wide world-the screeching of the alarm clock. With a groan, I slammed it, effectively turning it off. I rolled out of bed, hoping a hot shower would wake me up. After feeling the warm water hit my aching muscles, I woke up completely. I quickly washed myself and stepped out of the shower. Wrapping myself in a towel, I went back into my room to look for my hair dryer. I found it in a pile next to my shoes. I grabbed it and headed back into the bathroom. It took me a little while to dry my hair completely, since it was almost down to my waist. I applied minimal make-up, just covering up the tiredness from a stressful week. I slipped into the outfit Alice picked out for me, grabbing all of the items I would need: blackberry, chapstick, gum, and wallet and stuffed them into the clutch. They already had my resume so I didn't see the need to bring it in again. The final thing I grabbed was my coat.

I walked into the kitchen to be met by Alice and Jasper.

"Good morning." I said, grabbing a cup and filling it with coffee.

"Good morning, Bella. You're ready?" Jasper asked. I nodded.

"Bella, you look hot!" Alice exclaimed, making me blush. "I knew this would look great on you." She handed me a bagel.

"And that's why you're in fashion, Alice." I took it from her and ate it in a hurry. Jasper made a gesture, indicating it was time to go. I said good bye to Alice and followed him out.

"We'll be taking subway to work. It's about a five minute walk to the station from here and the train stops right in front of the building." I nodded as I followed him. "Plus, we get to skip traffic on the highway."

The ride to work was spent talking about the upcoming addition to the family. I could tell Jasper was excited to be an uncle. I knew he'd make a great father some day. I just don't think the world was ready for a mini Alice.

"This is our stop." Jasper took me by my elbow and guided me out. The building was pretty impressive and the office was situated on the top floor. The elevator doors opened and I stepped into the office. It was huge. I hoped I wouldn't get lost here. I made sure to pay attention where Jasper was going.

"Mary, can you let Mr. Masen know that Isabella Swan is here." He spoke to the receptionist. She smiled at him and did what he asked.

"Take a seat, Ms. Swan, he'll be right out." Mary said, giving me an appraising look. I was taken aback a bit. Was I missing something?

"Bella, I have to run but good luck. And, please, relax." I smiled and watched him walk away. I took a few deep breaths and waited. I was looking around when I heard a velvet voice.

"Ms. Swan, please come in." My head jerked up but he already disappeared behind the door. His voice did strange thing to my heart-it was beating like crazy. I stood up and walked inside, closing the door behind me. I finally got a good look at Edward Masen. The man was gorgeous. His hair was the most amazing shade of bronze and very unruly. A beautiful mess. He had very sharp facial features, a straight nose, and full lips. Shit, Bella, stop looking at his lips. I quickly looked up and was lost in his eyes. He had the most hypnotizing and beautiful green eyes and I felt myself getting pulled into them. I saw a smirk form on his face and I realized that I've been caught ogling the boss. I blushed and cleared my throat.

"Mr. Masen, it's a pleasure to meet you." I walked over to him and extended my hand. He took my hand and I felt a surge of electricity shoot through me on contact. I looked up to his face and saw shock written all over Edward's face. He quickly recovered and dropped my hand.

"Likewise, Isabella." He switched to first name basis.

"Bella." I corrected him automatically.

"I'm sorry?"

"I prefer Bella." I smiled.

"Bella it is then." He returned the smile and looked down on the paper in front of him. "I was quiet impressed. You graduated at the top of your class. Not many people do."

"It's only a journalism degree, not medicine." I retorted.

"Still counts." He smiled a crooked grin. My heart skipped a beat and then started pounding like crazy. Holy crap. Did he even know what kind of effect it had on female population? His smile got wider. Yep, he definitely did. "You came highly recommended by Jasper, so I expect a lot out of you."

"Of course, Mr. Masen."

"Please, call me Edward. Mr. Masen is my father."

"Edward." I said his name out loud. He seemed pleased. "I was wondering what exactly is expected of me?"

"As Jasper told you, you'll be my assistant. Checking emails, returning calls, setting up meetings with clients, doing some filing. That's the fun part. I know no one likes the next part of the job-coffee runs, getting lunch, and taking care of dry cleaning."

"Is that all?" I asked, relieved that it wasn't that bad.

"I have to travel on business sometimes. Once in a while, I will need you to come along with me. Is that a problem?" Edward asked, leaning closer to me. Right, because going on a trip with the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen would be a problem. Bad thoughts. Crap, think Bella, think. I looked down and noticed the wedding ring. Yep, that brought me back to the real world.

"No, not a problem." I said, glad I was still able to talk.

"Great! Your office will be right next to mine. So when can you start?" He seemed pleased.

"Now?" I was a bit surprised that I would get my own office but who was I to complain.

"Wonderful." He stood up, grabbing some file folders from his desk. "I need you to take care of these. The red ones go to Angela in Accounting, blue to Ben in Traffic department, and yellow to James in Creative department. Got it?"

"Red to Angela, blue to Ben, and yellow to James."

"Good girl. Come back when you're done and I'll see what else I have for you."

I stepped out of the office, balancing all of the folders. It took me a little while but I finally found accounting. Since the red was on top, followed by blue and yellow, I decided to go by that order. I was able to find Angela shortly.

"Excuse me, Angela? Edward told me to give you these." She looked up and I handed her the folders.

"Are you new?" She asked, looking curiously at me.

"Yes. I just started out. I'm Bella, Edward's new assistant." I reached my free hand to her.

"Well, Bella, it's great to meet you. As you already know, I'm Angela."

"It's great to meet you, too." I smiled. "Sorry but I have to run. I need to find Ben and then James."

"Oh, well, Ben is going to be the third door on your left and James is in the last office down the hall."

"Thank you so much, Angela."

I had no trouble finding Ben since Angela helped me out. I was finally down to yellow folders and knocked on the door.

"Come in." I heard a deep voice say.

"I'm sorry to bother you, James, but Edward asked me to give these to you."

"Ah, so you're the new assistant." James smiled, getting out of his chair. There was something about him that made me uneasy. It could have been that grin on his face or the fact that he was undressing me with his eyes. He took the folders out of my hand and his hand lingered on mine a bit longer than I would've liked. I yanked my hand back and excused myself, saying Edward was waiting for me. There was something about James that didn't sit well with me. Sure, he was a good looking guy with long, blond hair and piercing blue eyes, but the way he was looking at me made me feel like he was a hunter and I was the prey. I shook this strange feeling as I knocked on the door of Edward's office.

"Come in." He called out. I stepped in and saw that he was on the phone. He motioned for me to take a seat. "Vicky, I understand but I can't just leave everything. Yes, I realize that but I have to work. You like the new house, don't you. That's what I thought." His jaw clenched and lips turned into a straight line. "Listen, how about we talk when I get home. Yes, around eight." He hung up. "Sorry about that. I didn't expect you to come back for at least another fifteen minutes." He looked down at his watch and smiled.

"I feel like I'm missing out on a joke."

"It usually takes newbies a bit longer to find their way around the office. I'm quite impressed with you." Edward smiled wide at me.

"Angela was kind enough to help me out." I stated, trying not to think inappropriate thoughts about my new boss.

"Strange. She usually doesn't like any of my assistants."

"What were they like, if you don't mind me asking?" I couldn't imagine how someone sweet like Angela would not like someone.

"Blond bimbos." I let out a loud laugh. "Her words, not mine. In my defense, they looked good on paper. I guess I'm going have to keep you since you have Angela's seal of approval." I blushed at his words. He tilted his head and smiled again. My heart sped up again. I shook my head, trying to break the spell.

"Uum… do you have something else for me to do?" I asked after regaining my composure. Edward seemed to snap out of it too.

"Well, since it's a bit slow right now, would you mind going on a coffee run?" He was seriously asking me this? I mean, he said before it would a part of my job.

"Of course. What would you like?"

"Large Cinnamon Dolce Latte." I smiled since that was my usual order.

"Anything else?"

"No, that's it." He handed me the money.

"I'll be back shortly." I closed the door behind me and walked over to Mary. "Hey, I'm going to Starbucks. Do you want anything?" She looked up, surprised by my question.

"No, but thanks for asking."

I smiled and headed over to accounting. Since Angela was so nice to me, I decided to get her something. I found her talking to Ben. They seemed pretty cozy together.

"Hey Angela. Ben." I called out. Both of them looked up and smiled as I approached. "I'm going to Starbucks. You two want anything?"

Ben said no but Angela asked for a tall Eggnog Latte. She reached for her purse but I told her I'd get it. When she tried to argue, I said that it my way of thanking her for helping me earlier. I found the Starbucks easily since it was a few steps away. There was a long line and I huffed in frustration. That's when I remembered that I completely forgot about Jasper. I dialed his number and asked what he wanted. He tried to say no but I told him I'd end up getting something anyways. He finally caved in and told me his order. A few moments later, it was my turn and I placed an order, adding another Cinnamon Dolce Latte, only a smaller size. I waited patiently for my order and grabbed it as soon as they called my name.

I headed over to Angela first because I had no idea where Jasper was at. She thanked me for the coffee and pointed me in the right direction. I knocked on his door before entering.

"Oh, hey Bella." He reached for his cup. "Thanks, by the way."

"It's the least I could do." I shrugged.

"How's your first day going so far?"

"Good. I've made a friend." I smiled.

"That's good. Who is it?"

"Angela from accounting."

"She's a sweetheart." I nodded in agreement. I excused myself since I still had to deliver coffee to my boss. His door was wide open and poked my head inside. He smiled when he saw me and told me to come in.

"Here you go, Edward." I handed him coffee and change. He looked curiously at my cup.

"What did you get?"

"Only the best thing on the planet." I took a sip.

"And that would be?" His eyebrow shot up in question and his green eyes sparkled with humor.

"Cinnamon Dolce Latte."

"Great minds think alike, I see." I loved how playful he was but I had to constantly remind myself that he was a married man.

"I guess so." I mumbled.

"Bella, I really don't have anything else for you to do. Would you mind heading home earlier?"

"No. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Edward." He nodded and handed me a folder.

"Fill these out and give them to Jessica by the end of the week."

"Okay. Have a good day."

"You too." He called out as I closed the door. I texted Jasper, letting him know I was leaving early. He texted me back, giving me the name of the station I needed to get off and to let me know where the spare key was hidden. I realized that Alice was still at her store.

On my walk home, I noticed a Chinese takeout place. Since I wasn't sure what was in the fridge, I grabbed some lunch. I decided to take a relaxing bath after eating. I thought I deserved it after a job well done. Plus, I knew Alice would interrogate me once she got home. So I lounged around in my room until I heard the front door open and Alice calling me.

"In here!" I yelled.

"What are you doing?" She stepped inside. I pointed to the forms I was filling out. I figured might as well get it out of the way. She kept staring at me, waiting for an explanation.

"Filling out forms for work, Alie."

"Tell me all about your day." She demanded, landing on my bed. I sighed and pushed the forms aside. I'd have to finish them later.

"It was good. I think I'm going to like it there. Oh and I've made a friend. Do you know Angela from accounting?"

"Yea, she's a sweetheart. You know, she's dating Ben from Traffic department."

"I thought there was something going on between them." I mused.

"So what did you think of Edward?"

"You were right; he's a great boss. I think we'll get along just fine."

"Bel-la. That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?" I asked confused.

"You did see the guy, right?" Oh! I blushed realizing what she was asking. "Aha, I knew it. You like him."

"Alice." I hissed. "He's married."

"So?" She tilted her head to the side.

"That means he's off limits, no matter how ridiculously good looking he is." I gasped, realizing I've said too much. "I'm sure he's happily married." Alice scoffed at my last remark. "What?" I asked.

"Okay, you didn't hear this from me but from what Jasper tells me, he and Vicky are on shaky ground right now."

"Even more reason for not having this conversation." I poked her.

"Fine, I give up." She put her hands in the air. "But I have a feeling about you and Edward. Mark my words." I snorted and hit her with a pillow. She squealed and grabbed the second pillow. We kept hitting each other until we collapsed on the bed, laughing. And that's how Jasper found us. He shook his head at our childish behavior. Alice and I got up and headed to the kitchen to start dinner.


	4. Settling In

**So thank you for your reviews and alerts. I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying thank you to all of you.**

**A bit more background information on Edward, Vicky, and Angela in this chapter. I hope you like it. Love to hear what you think.  
**

**Paramore-I Caught Myself**

**Disclaimer: I just like to torture the characters but SM owns them.**

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The next couple of months flew by. Seems the slow days at the office were over and I was running around every day. I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I would collapse on my bed. Edward and I seemed to get along nicely. He was very laid back and would always joke around. I always felt relaxed around him. I mentally thanked Jasper for helping me with this job. I never thought I'd like being someone's assistant. Of course, the downside was that I really liked Edward. A lot more than I should have. Thankfully, the ring on his finger always put an end to my little fantasies.

On the bright side, I've become good friends with Angela. We always took our lunches together.

"So how did long have you worked here?" I asked during one of our breaks.

"Since this place opened up." I stared at her in confusion.

"I thought it was just the three of them when the place opened."

"Oh, please. Those boys would be lost without me." She laughed. "Edward and I met during our third year. At first, I thought he was one of those stuck up guys. You know, the ones that think they're the God's gift to women? Yea, turned out I was wrong. He's a genuinely nice guy. And then he told me about their plan for business and I offered to help. I like to think they owe their success to me." She finished with a smile. I nodded in agreement.

"Hello, ladies." Edward stepped into the break room.

"Hi Edward." We said in the sweetest voices possible.

"What are you two up to?" He asked, putting money into the soda machine.

"Nothing." Angela tried to sound innocent. I turned and smirked at her. Together we were watching the show. See, if you haven't used the soda machine, you wouldn't know that there was a certain way it worked.

"What the!" I heard Edward exclaim as he realized his soda was stuck. He started banging on the machine and Angela and I burst out in laughter. He turned to us, narrowing his eyes. I sighed and got up to help him. I walked over to the side, found the right spot and hit it. Instantaneously, I heard the bottle drop and Edward bent down to retrieve it. I blatantly stared at him, watching his muscles ripple with every movement. "Thanks, Bella." He said walking towards the exit and winking at me. "Bye, Angie."

"Bye, Eddie." She called out and I saw Edward scrunch his face in disgust.

"I take it he doesn't like being called that."

"Nope." She said, popping the p. "But I can get away with it." Angela grinned evilly.

"Remind me to never piss you off." I commented, taking my seat.

***

During the weekends, I made it my priority to look for apartments. As much as I loved living with Jasper and Alice, they were married and in need of privacy. I was able to locate a decent apartment about halfway between Alice's house and work. I was getting paid a good amount and would be able to afford it. Plus, I still had the money Charlie and Renee gave me. That would go towards buying furniture.

So at the end of March, I signed my contract and got ready to move. I went furniture shopping with the girls and was able to find good bargains. Alice and her amazing ability to find good deals. I was now a proud owner of a queen sized bed, a couch, loveseat, recliner, coffee table, and a small breakfast table. We also found basic necessities for kitchen and bathroom. The bathroom had a decent sized tub which made me extremely happy. I wouldn't have to give up on my long baths. So when I was finally settled in, I decided to have everyone over for dinner. I cooked my specialty-lasagna. I added garlic bread and salad to the menu and purchased a bottle of good wine. For Rose, I got sparkling water. She was finally showing and would find out the sex of the baby next week. We were all excited to know ourselves. We actually had a pool going to see who it was. Alice and I bet on a girl while Emmett, Jasper, and Rose bet on a boy.

"Wow, Belly, the place looks amazing." Emmett said, after looking around the apartment. "But you know what you're missing?"

"What?" I laughed.

"A flat screen and an Xbox."

"Sorry, Teddy Bear but that wasn't on my list."

"Ignore him, Bella. I love the décor. Ooh, and I love the smell of dinner. What you got there?" Rose said, following the smell of food.

"A lasagna."

"I love you!" She exclaimed, hugging me with all of her might. I was so close to her that I felt the baby kick. "He's been quiet active today." She gushed.

"You mean she." Alice said, entering the apartment. Jasper followed after her.

"Alice, I'm pretty sure it's a he." Rose rubbed her stomach. "Call it mother's intuition, I guess."

I heard the beeper go off and rushed over to take the lasagna out. Everything else was already set up on the table. I carried it over to the table and called everyone over.

"Oh my goodness, Bella. This is amazing." Rose moaned after taking the first bite. I thanked her and went back to eating. Conversation flowed easily once everyone was full. We talked about possible names for the little one and who would get what.

"If it's a girl, I really hope she takes after Rosalie." I said.

"What's wrong with taking after me?" Emmett pouted.

"Teddy Bear, can you imagine the poor kid if she takes after you?" I snickered. The rest of my friends broke out in laughter. Emmett stayed silent for a second and then his booming laughter filled the room.

"So what's going on with Edward?" I heard Rosalie ask.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He's been distant these past two months. What's up?" She turned to Emmett and Jasper. They looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Finally, Jasper sighed and nodded to Emmett.

"You know how he's been having problems with Vicky lately." Emmett said. "Well, they are in the middle of their divorce. And it's going good. Seems Vicky wants more than Edward is willing to give." I looked over to Alice and she gave me "I told you so" look. I shrugged, not wanting to give anything away. Part of me was actually happy that Edward would become single soon. And then my logical side kicked in. Yea, like he'd ever go for someone like me.

"I knew from the very beginning that girl was trouble." Rose spat out. "After everything Edward has done for her!"

"Rose, calm down. It's not good for the baby." Emmett scooted closer to her trying to calm her down.

"I know. It's just Edward is such a sweetheart and that little witch…ugh. Forget it. Can we change the subject?"

"So, Bella. What is it I hear about you and James?" Jasper asked and I blushed.

"Nothing." I squeaked out.

"Oh no, you don't. Spill, Swan." Alice said.

"I'm serious. There's nothing going on. He asked me out couple of times but I said no."

"Why?" Both Rose and Alice exclaimed.

"I don't know why but I get a bad feeling when he's around. I mean, on my first day, he was literally undressing me with his eyes."

"No." I heard a collective gasp.

"And there's something about him, I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe I'm just overreacting but I'd rather have him stay away from me."

"I'm not sure if that will happen." Jasper said. All eyes shot to him. "You see, for James, it's all a game. Once he has his eyes on you, there's no escaping him. I think you're the first girl to say no to him."

"I'm sure Angela turned him down." I said, trying not to sound scared.

"Angela was already dating Ben when James started working at the company. Bella, please be careful around him. I'm not sure how far he goes in order to get what he wants."

"Thanks for the warning, Jasper. I'll make sure to steer clear of him."

Next day at work, I made sure to stay away from James at all costs. Edward kept me pretty busy throughout the day so I didn't have to worry about running into James. Alice called me around lunch time and asked me to have lunch with her. I made sure Edward didn't need me before I agreed. Our lunch ran a bit longer than I realized and I rushed back to work. I was so occupied with getting there on time that I ran into someone right in the middle of the office. I felt myself fall backwards from the impact but a pair of strong arms caught me by my waist. I felt the electrical charge run through my body and looked up only to be met by a pair of green eyes.

"You really should be watching where you're going, Bella." Edward's voice sounded husky as he pulled me back into standing position. His arms were still on my waist and his eyes darkened. I felt my breathing pick up and blood rush to my face. I've never noticed how tall he was since he was sitting in his office all of the time. He was around Jasper's height and I had to raise my head in order to make eye contact. I've noticed before how well built he was but I could now admire his body closer. I saw his face inching closer to mine and…

"Well, hello Bella." I heard James' voice behind me. Edward dropped his hands immediately and pulled away from me. He turned towards his office, leaving me alone with James. "No wonder you're turning me down. You have your sights set on a bigger prize." He smiled, reaching out to touch me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, James." I said coldly, stepping away from him.

"I'm sure you don't." He said in a patronizing tone. "Just remember that his wife would not appreciate your efforts to seduce her husband."

"If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." I wasn't even going to dignify his last comment. After all, not everyone knew about Edward's divorce.

"You wouldn't be the first one to try. Just ask about Lauren." James threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into his office.

I kept myself busy for the rest of the day, not wanting to think about what James had said. For all I knew, he was lying. But it wasn't his words that occupied my mind but the incident that happened with Edward. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn't attracted to him. Any woman would be. What bothered me was the fact that I couldn't figure out how I felt about Edward. Over the past months, I've noticed how my body reacted to him. But was this a purely physical reaction or was there something more? I shook my head, willing these silly thoughts to go away. I needed to focus on my job and not daydream about my boss. I will try to sort everything out this weekend, when I've had enough rest.

Throughout the whole week, Edward seemed to keep his distance. He was acting a bit more reserved and I couldn't help thinking that it was because of what had happened on Monday. I followed his example. I did not want to be labeled as one of those girls who tries to go after her rich boss. Especially if that said boss was still technically married. Maybe he and Vicky were working everything out and that was the reason for his strange behavior.

***

Alice had called me earlier to let me know that we would be going to a spa on Saturday. I asked if I could bring Angela along. I thought she would be a great addition to our little circle. Once I had the go ahead from Alice, I asked Angela if she wanted to come. She was thrilled and accepted right away. I told her to come by my apartment since Rose would be picking all of us up.

Saturday morning a very excited Angela showed up at my place. I couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm as I let her in.

"Do you want anything? I just made coffee and I have bagels."

"Coffee would be great." She looked around. "You have a great place, Bella."

"Thanks. Alice helped me with everything."

"Huh, maybe I should ask her to help me with my place." She wondered out loud.

"Definitely. I'm sure she'll be more than happy." I said, motioning her over to the table.

"So, Bella, you want to tell me what's going on between you and Edward?" Angela asked and I chocked on my coffee.

"Excuse me?" I squeaked out once I recovered.

"Please, don't play coy with me. You don't think I can see how the two of you are dancing around each other?"

"Angela, first of all, he's my boss and second of all, he's married."

"Not for long he isn't."

"Huh?" I pretended not to know what she was talking about.

"He's in the middle of his divorce from Vicky." She made her name sound as an insult.

"Still, Angela. I don't think he would be interested in me."

"Okay, sure. You keep telling yourself that." Angela scoffed.

"Anyways, can we change the subject?" She was about to say something but a knock on the door interrupted her. I flew to the door, grateful to see Alice and Rose.

"Alice, Rose, I'm not sure if you've met Angela." I gestured towards her.

"We have." Rose answered. "Nice to see you again, Angela."

"You too, Rose. Alice."

"Alright, let's hit the road, girls." Alice said and we followed her to Rose's car. Angela and I sat in the back and were hanging on for our dear lives. Rose and Alice were talking animatedly in front. Thankfully, the drive was not long and I shot out of the car the moment it stopped.

"Oh my goodness." I heard Angela say breathlessly. "Is she always driving like this?" I nodded unable to find my voice.

Alice had signed us up for everything. We were all lying in some sort of mud bath when Angela spoke up.

"So, Alice, is Bella always this blind when it comes to guys."

"What do you mean?" A confused pixie asked.

"Edward." She clarified.

"Don't get me started on that." Alice grumbled. "I've been trying to tell her but she is too stubborn for her own good."

"Seriously?" I exclaimed, feeling pissed off that they were talking as if I wasn't even here. "There's nothing going on with Edward. As far as I'm concerned, he's still married and is not interested in me. Rose, help me out here." I turned to the only rational person in this place.

"Sorry, Bella, but I'm with them on this one."

"Not you too." I smacked my hand against my forehead and heart a loud splat. Crap, I forgot about the mud.

"Nice one, Bella." Rose snickered. "But seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if something happened between you two. We went out to dinner with Edward recently and every time your name was mentioned, his eyes lit up."

"Whatever." I grumbled. "Can we change the subject, please?"

"Well, I, for one, am happy he finally came to his senses and is dropping Vicky." Angela said.

"She can't be that bad. I mean, they've been married for what?"

"Nearly three years. They met their senior year." Alice answered.

"What happened? I mean, you don't just throw away almost three years of marriage over nothing."

"Let's just say, Vicky knew how to present herself. She figured out what Edward wanted and became that. Of course, it all changed after they got married. At first, it was small things. Like her car wasn't as good as others or her clothes needed updating. Edward being Edward catered to her every demand. I honestly think he had genuine feelings for her in the beginning. I guess it's safe to say he finally saw through her charade."

"And what would that be?"

"She's just a gold digger. She ultimately sold her body in order to have finer things in life." Rose spat out.

"Wow."

"And now she's trying to take half of everything. Edward's trying really hard to fight her on it."

"No wonder he's been acting weird this past week." I thought out loud.

"How so?" Alice asked.

"Well, he's usually joking and laughing with me but he's been more reserved this week. After Monday, anyways."

"And what happened on Monday?" Rose asked, sensing that I wasn't telling the entire story.

"Alice and I had lunch together and I realized too late that I've taken longer than usual. So I was in a hurry to get back to his office when I slammed into him in the hall. He caught me in time but then James showed up." I shuddered, just remembering James' behavior.

"What did that asshole do?" Angela asked.

"He basically accused me of having an affair with Edward. He also mentioned something about a Lauren?" I looked to Angela for an answer.

"Ah, the blond bimbo." She laughed. "That girl thought she could get Edward to leave Vicky and marry her. Her delusions lasted for about a week. Edward was finally fed up with her and fired her ass." The four of us laughed at Lauren's expense.

"So, Rose, any ideas for the names?" I asked, successfully changing the subject.

"Yea. If it's a girl-Lillian Olivia and if it's a boy-Gabriel Anthony."

"Isn't that Emmett's and Edward's middle name?" Alice asked.

"Yes. We decided to follow in their mother's footsteps."

"I bet Esme is thrilled about her future grandchild."

"She and Carlisle can't wait. Esme kept some of Emmett's baby things and she told me she'd drop them off next week." Rose gushed. "That reminds me, she wants to throw a baby shower…"

"Already on it." Alice said. She then turned towards Angela and me. "You two are coming, no excuses."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." I said and Angela nodded in agreement. "Just let us know when."

"Oh, it's not until June." Alice informed us. Considering it was April, that left us two months. Then something hit me.

"Rose, weren't you supposed to find out the sex of the baby this week?"

"Yep." She beamed.

"Well, spill."

"It seems Auntie Alice and auntie Bella were correct." Both Alice and I squealed in delight. "You'll get your money next week."

"Crap." I heard Angela say.

"You didn't." I gaped at her. She smiled sheepishly at me. "Angela, you should've known better than to bet against the all knowing Pixie." Alice blew me a raspberry. I shook my head at her childish behavior. The rest of our time was spent planning the upcoming festivity.


	5. Let's Play Pretend

**Happy Wednesday everybody!!! We're halfway through the week. Oh, and just so you know, there's a six hour difference between US and Denmark, so I'm not a crazy person who gets up at three in the morning to post a new chapter. Although, that would be kind of cool. Anyways...  
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**We are slowly making progress. Yey!!! A bit of an emotional roller coaster for poor Bella. Enjoy.  
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**Muse-Easily**

**Disclaimer: Dang it, SM still owns Twilight**

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I've had the pleasure of meeting Edward's soon to be ex-wife the following week. I was gathering the files he needed and went over to knock on his door, when I heard arguing. I hesitated for a moment but decided to knock. An angry "Come in" made me open the door and step in cautiously. Edward was sitting behind his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose (he only did it when he was very upset) while a gorgeous red head was standing over him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but here are the files you needed, Edward." Red head's eyes shot to me instantaneously. She looked me up and down, before walking over to me with a sneer on her face.

"Hi, I'm Victoria. Edward's wife." She extended her hand and I shook it without hesitation.

"Bella. Pleasure to meet you, Victoria." I said in the most professional voice. Even though she was a gorgeous woman I would not let her intimidate me. I already hated her for how she treated Edward. Her blue eyes kept sizing me up but I ignored it and stepped towards Edward's desk and placed the files. "Let me know if you need anything else." I looked over to Edward and heard Vicky scoff. I shot him a small smile and turned to leave.

"Bella, you don't have to leave. Victoria and I are done here. She was just leaving, weren't you, Vicky?" His voice was cold.

"I sure was, Eddie. See you soon." She slammed the door.

"Sorry about that." Edward apologized.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Edward."

"Maybe not but I am sorry about the way Victoria treated you. Her behavior was uncalled for."

"It's fine. I've had worse." I smiled, remembering Jessica Stanley's behavior when she found out I was going to prom with Mike.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing." Edward pouted, making me laugh. "Fine, I was just remembering high school."

"Good times?" He questioned.

"Looking back now, yes. Back then, I didn't think so." I turned to leave. "If you need me, you know where to find me." I said, before closing the door behind me.

***

The months leading up to the baby shower seemed to fly by. I was even more confused than I was before. After my little run in with Vicky, Edward seemed to go back to his semi-usual self. Yes, he would still joke around but he seemed to act a bit more cautious around me. Although, he did stick to his ritual of visiting the break room under the pretense of getting a soda. That only happened when Angela and I were there. She informed me that he never did that before I started working. I just rolled my eyes at her comment. Honestly, I didn't want to give myself hope because I was already in too deep. I tried to fight it so hard these past months but was unsuccessful. I was hopelessly in love with Edward Masen. It was hard to admit that but I decided to stop lying to myself. I was really proud that I was able to effectively hide my feelings at work. My heart still pounded like crazy every time I laid my eyes on Edward but I acted as if nothing was wrong. Angela kept pestering me with her questions but I shot her down every time. I knew she meant well but I couldn't admit anything to her. What good would it do?

The day of, Alice said she'd pick me up since I had no idea where the Cullens lived. Esme was more than happy to have the shower at her house. I heard Alice honk and grabbed my gift. I bought Rose the bedding she selected on her registry. I couldn't wait for the little Lillian to come into the world so I could spoil her.

I jaw dropped once I saw the house. It was a freaking mansion. Alice reached out and closed my mouth. I shot her a grateful smile. We were among the first ones to arrive to I went over to Esme to introduce myself and to help with anything.

"Oh, hello dear. You must be Bella." She spoke before I could even say anything. "Emmett has been talking nonstop about you ever since you moved to Chicago. It's wonderful to finally meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cullen."

"Please, call me Esme. Mrs. Cullen makes me feel so old." I smiled and nodded.

"Do you need help with anything?"

"Could you keep an eye on the food in the oven? Just let it sit in there for five more minutes and then take it out."

"Not a problem, Esme."

"Thank you so much, Bella. I have to go keep an eye on a certain Pixie." She winked and went into the living room. I did as Esme instructed and took everything out after five minutes. I looked around the kitchen and noticed a whole lot of food. I was a bit surprised since I knew there weren't that many people coming. Just some of Rose's friends from college and then us.

I heard the front door open and Rose's voice. I stepped out of the kitchen to greet her. Her stomach has gotten bigger over the last months but she still looked beyond beautiful.

"Bella! You're here." She exclaimed once she saw me.

"Where else would I be? I am the unofficial auntie." I smiled and attempted to hug her. It was becoming harder these days. I felt a kick and looked up at Rose. "I see she's going to be a soccer player."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I swear, she thinks my bladder is her own personal squishy toy. Speaking of which, I'll be right back." She hurried off in the direction of the bathroom. I went over to the living room and gasped at what I saw. Alice definitely went all out. There were pink and white balloons everywhere. Tables were covered in pink and white table cloths and Rose had her own special table. There sat a diaper cake. A huge banner hung on the wall, saying "Welcome Lillian Olivia Cullen". It was perfect.

"So, what do you think?" Alice asked.

"Alice, you've outdone yourself." As I finished saying that, I heard a gasp come from behind me. Rose stood in the entry way with her hand over her mouth.

"Are you okay?" I asked, worried there was something wrong.

"Yes, I am. I'm just amazed by what Alice had done. Thank you so much." She walked over to Alice to hug her and then turned to Esme. "And thank you, Esme." She also hugged her.

"I'm glad you like it, Rose. It's the least I could do for my little granddaughter." Esme said, rubbing Rose's stomach. I smiled at their interaction. I was amazed by how close all of them were. A true family. That made me miss my parents even more. Sure, I spoke to them on the phone but it wasn't enough. It's been crazy busy at work and I couldn't take any days off, considering I was still new there. I hoped I'd be able to fly home for Thanksgiving. I knew it was still far away but at least I had something to look forward.

The rest of the guests began to arrive and soon enough, the shower started. We played some silly games and ate the wonderful food prepared by Esme. I had to admit, she was an excellent cook. By the end of the shower, Rose began to open gifts. She received a lot of useful items ranging from diapers to a crib (from her in-laws). After the presents, people started to leave. I saw Alice text someone when the last person left. She was probably letting Jasper know that she'd be home soon. I helped Esme clean everything up while Rose rested on the couch. Poor thing, she couldn't stand or sit for extended period of time.

Esme and I were washing dishes in the kitchen when she said something that almost made me drop a plate.

"Thank you so much for helping out today." She smiled at me. "I can definitely see why Edward is so smitten with you."

"Excuse me?" I squeaked out. I did not expect that out of Esme. She just winked at me and went back to washing dishes. I decided to let it go for now. I heard the front door open and the unmistakable voice of Emmett boom through the house.

"Where's the party at?" I shook my head and told Esme I'd finish cleaning everything. I mean, there were only five plates left. She thanked me and went over to her son.

"Emmett, could you please keep it down? Your poor wife is trying to rest." I heard her tell Emmett.

"Sorry, Rosie. Would you like a back rub?"

"That's more like it." Esme said. "Hello, Jasper. Edward, glad you could make it." I nearly dropped my plate again. Crap, he was here. Okay, act normal, Bella. No need to get excited or anything. I heard Esme whisper something before she greeted her husband. Huh, guess it was a family thing and maybe I would be able to leave.

"Why are you hiding back here?" Edward's voice sounded behind me and I jumped from the surprise, dropping the washcloth. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." I heard him chuckle.

"Sure." I said, turning around to face him. He was wearing some band t-shirt which clung to him, showing off his muscles and a pair of jeans. And I thought he looked good in suits but wow, casual look was now my favorite. I saw him smile, realizing I was caught. "So do you always sneak up on people?"

"Bella, it's not my fault that you're so unobservant." He joked.

"Yea, okay." I turned back and finished washing the remaining plates. I dried my hands off and felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, I'm really sorry for sneaking up on you. I promise to never do that again." His eyes confirmed the seriousness of his voice. It was then I realized how close he was to me. My heart was still hammering against my chest and that had nothing to do with him scaring me earlier. I smiled, letting him know he was forgiven. He gave me his crooked smile and I expected him to remove his hand. Instead, he slowly dragged it down, sending shocks down my arm. He finally reached my hand and grabbed it. I looked down at our hands and then back at him. "Come on, everyone's waiting for us." He said, leading me into the living room. He dropped my hand once we came into the view, for which I was grateful. I did not need or want to be bombarded by questions.

"Finally!" Emmett exclaimed. "What took you two so long?" He winked at me.

"It's called washing the dishes, Emmett. Ever heard of it?" I asked.

"If that's what you kids call it these days." The whole room erupted in laughter. I couldn't help laughing. I noticed a tall, blond man standing by Esme. Remembering my manners, I walked over to him to introduce myself.

"Dr. Carlisle, it's wonderful to meet you."

"Likewise, Bella but please call me Carlisle."

"Of course." I smiled. Esme called everyone over to the dining room. Guess there was no escaping. I noticed that the only available seat was by Edward. Come on, give me a break! I was still full from the shower so I didn't put anything on my plate.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Edward leaned in to ask me. I felt his breath on my neck and shivered.

"I'm not hungry. I ate during the shower." I explained, not making eye contact. He returned to the sitting position and didn't bother me after that. And when I said he didn't bother me, I meant he didn't talk to me but would "accidentally" brush himself against me. At first, I thought it was all in my head. I mean, he adjusted his chair and his hand brushed against my upper thigh. Then he reached over for something, brushing his hand against mine. After the third time, I realized he was doing this on purpose. Was he trying to kill me? My heart was already in overdrive and I wasn't sure how much more it could handle. Thankfully, the dinner was over soon and we went back into the living room. I made sure to sit as far away from him as possible.

I was in the middle of the conversation with Jasper when I felt his presence. Yep, my body was so attuned to him that I knew when Edward was near.

"Would you like to go for a walk with me?" Edward asked discretely so only Jasper heard him. I didn't want to be rude so I agreed. Everyone else seemed not to notice or chose not to say anything. The air outside was warm and I enjoyed the freshness of it. Edward motioned towards the back of the house and I walked in that direction. We stayed silent for a minute.

"So what's going on, Edward?" I broke the silence.

"What do you mean?" He asked. I raised my eyebrow at him. "I wanted to get out of the house and I thought you would enjoy some fresh air. That's all." He raised his arms in surrender. I noticed he didn't have his wedding ring on. I kept staring at his left hand and he noticed. "What?"

"Oh, sorry. I just saw that you didn't have your ring on."

"Yea, I figured what was the point of pretending anymore." He said bitterly.

"Hey, I'm sorry." I walked closer to him and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be. I'm not. I just wish I realized my mistake earlier."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He looked questionably at me. "I promise this stays between us."

"How much do you know?"

"I know you met her in college, senior year. Been married for about three years and you're divorcing her." I summed up all of the information. I didn't say anything about disliking her. I mean, then I would have to explain why I didn't like her.

"There's a bit more to it. Yes, I met Vicky in the beginning of my senior year and we dated for about three months before she told me she was pregnant. Only my parents knew about that. I knew what I had to do so I proposed. At that time, I thought I loved her. That didn't last long." He laughed darkly. "Everything seemed fine in the beginning. I opened the firm with the guys and Angela and we were actually getting a decent amount of clients. Unfortunately, Vicky suffered a miscarriage after the wedding. I was crushed. I was really looking forward to being a dad. A year later, the company took off and we're now doing better than I ever dreamed of. It wasn't about money for me because I have an inheritance from my father. I was just glad that I was able to make the company a success for other people. Of course, this meant long hours at work. At first, Vicky understood but then she started nagging me about my work. I apologized and bought her an expensive gift. She caught on quickly. Every time she'd want something, she'd start saying how much she missed me and how I wasn't spending time with her. Feeling guilty, I would give her whatever she asked for. Her demands grew bigger and bigger until I realized that it was what she was after. She never had any feelings for me and I realized I never really loved her. I married her out of duty and nothing more. So now she's trying to take half of what I own. I was stupid enough not to have a pre-nup since I never thought our company would be doing this well." He stopped.

"Edward, I'm so sorry you had to go through this." I tried to console him.

"You know what the worst part is? She was never pregnant. She faked it in order to get me to marry her. Of course I have no way of proving it since there were no witnesses around." I looked at him and saw so much sadness in his face. He didn't deserve this. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him. He stiffened for a moment but then returned my embrace. I heard his sigh and felt him rest his face on my head. We stood like that for some time before I felt Edward break our embrace.

"Thank you for listening." He said, searching my face for something. He must have found it because he smiled.

"Yeah." I breathed out and watched his face leaning closer. My heart stopped for a moment before it began beating at a ridiculously fast pace. I automatically closed my eyes and waited for his lips to touch mine. The moment never came. Instead, I heard him curse under his breath before pulling away from me.

"Yo, Eddie-boy. Jasper's waiting for you." I heard Emmett's voice. That cleared my head right away. I dropped my hands and rushed towards the house. Edward made no effort of stopping me and I was grateful for that.

The moment I stepped into the house, Alice was by my side. She knew that something has happened by the look on my face. I silently told her not to say anything. She nodded and announced that she would be leaving. I walked over to everyone to say goodbye. I turned towards the exit and saw Edward watching my every move. It looked like he was battling with himself. I didn't want to think about this situation anymore so I just walked by him and nodded. He returned the gesture. Once outside, I let out a shaky breath. I didn't realize how emotionally spent I was. Alice grabbed my elbow and guided me towards her car.

"Okay, what the heck happened?" She said once we pulled out of the driveway.

"Alie, please." I begged.

"No, Bella. I will not give in this time. Something serious happened. You were laughing and smiling the whole time and then you come back from outside, looking pale and ready to pass out. So let me ask you again, what happened."

"We almost kissed." I whispered.

"What!" Alice yelled.

"Please calm down. We didn't actually kiss but if Emmett didn't come out of the house, I don't know what would've happened."

"How are you feeling?" She asked, reaching out to touch me.

"I don't know. I'm so confused right now. It's like we're playing this game and I'm afraid I'll end up with a broken heart."

"You love him, don't you?" Alice finally realized.

"I do. And it kills me to see him every day and know that I can't do anything about it. What can I do?" I felt tears running down my face. I wiped them off quickly.

"Bella, honey, it will all work out, okay? I told you, I have a good feeling about this." I noticed that we arrived at my place.

"Thank you, Alie. Please don't say anything to anyone."

"I promise. How about you go relax. Draw yourself a bath and just forget about everything."

"Yea, a bath sounds nice. Thanks for dropping me off. I'll see you soon?"

"Yes. We'll do lunch with the girls sometime next week."

I walked into my room and felt all of the strength leave my body. I muffled my sobs by the pillow, not wanting to disrupt my neighbors. How did I end up in this mess?


	6. Easier Said Than Done

**Happy Wednesday, all!!! My classes are finally over and now let the fun of studying for exams begin!!! Anyone want to do it for me? I'd really appreciate that. **

**Another sad one but it had to be written. Trust me, I don't like sad Bella either! So enjoy and let me know what you think.  
**

**Plumb-Bittersweet**

**Disclaimer: Everything is owned by SM :(**

* * *

To say Monday was awkward would be an understatement. Edward made sure I would not spend more time than necessary in his office. I was relieved that he didn't try to make it worse. Before I knew it, the workday ended. I walked into Edward's office one last time to make sure he didn't need anything else.

"Can you please close the door behind you?" His voice didn't give anything away. I did as he asked and stepped towards his desk. I stopped a good distance away from him. He sighed and got up, walking closer to me. Crap, now what?

"Bella, I think we need to talk." I was yet to make eye contact.

"About what?" I tried to play it off.

"About what almost happened on Saturday night." I looked up to his face to try and figure out where he was going with this. I was pretty sure what he would say so I figured I'd beat him to it. It wouldn't hurt as much.

"There's nothing to talk about. I overstepped my boundaries and I'm sorry for that. It was just a silly mistake and nothing more." I tried to sound professional, keeping any sort of emotions to myself.

"A mistake." He echoed. I nodded and saw his face harden.

"Now that we have come to an understanding, is there anything else you needed before I leave for the day?" Keep up the façade, Bella.

"No, you're free to go." His tone now matched his face. I wished him a good evening and walked out. Once I was safely inside the subway, I let out a shaky breath. I guess I was stronger than I thought.

I was glad to see that Edward decided to keep everything strictly professional at work. The incident wasn't mentioned again. On Thursday afternoon, Edward called me into his office.

"Isabella, there's a gala happening next Saturday. I expect you to attend." He said, handing me the invitation. It didn't surprise me that he called me Isabella. He started doing that after our conversation on Monday. What surprised me was that he wanted me to go to this gala.

"Are…are you sure?" I stuttered.

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have given you the invitation." The coldness of his tone really hurt me.

"Okay. Is there a specific dress code?"

"Wear an evening gown." Edward motioned, dismissing me.

I called Alice after work, informing her that I needed a dress. She, of course, was more than happy to help. She said she had a perfect dress for me at her shop and I could come by this Saturday to look at it. I asked her if she would be attending and she reassured me that everyone would be there: her, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme, Angela, and Ben. I calmed down, realizing I would not be all by myself.

On Saturday, I went with Alice to her shop. She pulled out the dress she wanted me to wear and my mouth flew open. The dress was amazing. It was a floor length gown, in emerald green. The front was fairly well covered but it had a plunging back. Any other time, I would've said no but I loved the dress. Alice saw my face and clapped in excitement.

"Come on, go put it on." I went into the dressing room and emerged in the dress. She put me in front of the three sided mirror. I had to admit, I looked good in it. The dress itself was very flowy and accentuated my curves. "Bella, you look amazing! Please, let me do your hair and make-up! Pretty please?" Alice begged.

"Alie, I was going to ask you to do that anyways." I laughed.

"Yey!" The Pixie was bouncing. "Okay, come over to my house on Saturday morning and I will work my magic on you. I'll take care of shoes and accessories."

"Okay, thank you so much."

"Oh, before I forget. The girls want to go for dinner next week. When is good for you?"

"Pretty much any day after six."

"Great, I'll call you once we figure out the details."

"You know, how about you come over to my place Friday night and I'll cook you girls dinner?"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Come around eight."

"You're awesome, Bella."

"You're just saying that because I'm feeding you."

"Well, duh!"

"Kay, see you Friday."

On Monday, first thing I did was to invite Angela. She agreed right away and said she'd take care of dessert. I tried to say no but it didn't work. Since I knew I had an exciting evening planned for Friday and a gala to attend on Saturday, my whole week dragged by. Edward was still acting cold and distant and I couldn't understand what the problem was. I thought I did him a favor. Men, I could never figure them out. I made sure to go shopping Thursday so I could make my favorite chicken parmesan. What can I say, I love Italian food.

I was putting finishing touches on my dish when there was a knock on my door. I told the girls to come in since the door was open. All of them piled in, Angela carrying homemade tiramisu and Alice had a bottle of wine. Good thing I've bought some juice for Rose. I took the plate from Angela and put it into the fridge. I took out the juice for Rose and told Alice to open the wine. When everything was ready, we sat down at the table.

"Gosh, Bella. You need to move in with us and cook for me every day." Rose said while chewing.

"And what would I do about my job?"

"Quit, of course. I mean, you'll have a place to stay at and an unlimited amount of food."

"I'm sure Edward would mind." Angela cut in.

"Yea, I'm sure." I said not even trying to hide my sarcasm. He would probably see it as an easy way out.

"And what does that mean?" Angela asked.

"Nothing. So who's excited about tomorrow night?" I quickly changed the subject.

"Girls, just wait until you see Bella in her dress. Guys are going to be drooling all over her." Alice winked at me. I blushed and shook my head.

"Ooh, one hot Bella coming up." Rose put in her five cents.

"Shut up." She just stuck her tongue out. Conversation started flowing in the direction of who would be wearing what tomorrow and Alice pinched me trying to get my attention.

"So did you figure everything about a certain boss man?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"Yea, everything is taken care of. No need to worry about it." I smiled at her. If only I could believe that.

"Hey, you two want to share something with the rest of the class?" Rose cut in.

"Not really." Alice shrugged and I snickered. Only she could deal with Rose.

We continued talking about some random things until Rose realized how late it was. I walked them out to their cars and went back inside. I prayed I would survive tomorrow without any incidents.

***

"Just five more minutes, Bella."

"Yea, you said that half an hour ago." I shot back.

"Beauty takes time, so shut it." Alice commanded.

Ten minutes later, I was finally released. I slipped the dress and shoes on and turned to see the final product. I had to give it to Alice, she was a miracle worker. I actually looked good. My hair was curled and gathered into the low ponytail, clipped with an emerald clip. A few wisps of hair were strategically stuck out to frame my face. She did smoky eyes and light pink lips for me. My jewelry consisted on multi tiered gold chain and chandelier earrings. Alice also chose strappy gold heels for me. I loved everything.

"Thank you so much, Alie." I gushed. "I actually look presentable."

"You always look presentable, sweetie. You just needed to look extra nice tonight. Okay, I'm going to go put my dress on. The car will be here in half an hour to pick us up."

Fifteen minutes later, Alice stepped out in a gorgeous black dress. It was a strapless one and hugged her upper body tightly and flared out right at her knees. Her hair was slicked back and she opted for dramatic dark eyes and red lips. She looked spectacular.

"Wow! I hope Jasper will be able to beat all the guys away." I joked.

"He's gotten used to that over the years." She turned towards the stairs. "Jazzy, we're ready."

He slowly descended the stairs, his eyes glued to Alice.

"Baby, you look…wow, I'm speechless." Was all he was able to say. I think she got the point by his face.

"Thank you, sweetie. But look at Bella. Isn't she gorgeous?" He did as his wife asked. His eyebrows shot up in surprise once he took everything in.

"Bella, you look beautiful tonight." Jasper said, lifting my hand and placing a kiss.

"Why, thank you kind sir." I curtsied. Both of them laughed at my silly behavior. There was a long honk that let us know the car was here. We made our way outside and I froze in my spot. Parked in front of Alice's car was a stretch Hummer.

"Is there a problem, Bella?" Alice asked, seeing me standing in one spot.

"You never said we'd be taking a limo."

"Oh, is that all?" She shrugged and pulled me along. Jasper was kind enough to help us both in before climbing into the car. Sitting inside were Rose and Emmett and Ben and Angela. Both of them looked beautiful in their gowns.

Angela had a royal purple dress on with one shoulder strap and a slit that ended just above her knee. Her black hair was curled in soft waves and let down. Rose was wearing a strapless gown that flowed over her belly. I couldn't make out the color-it was a mix of dirty pink with a hint of purple. She also had her hair down, only it was straightened.

"Wow, Alice, you weren't kidding about Bella." Rose finally broke the silence. I blushed at her comment.

"Just wait till you see her actually standing. Much better view."

I noticed that Edward was missing from the group. Alice informed me that he decided to take his Vanquish instead of riding with all of us. I guess he was still avoiding me. I shook off the feeling of hurt and decided to enjoy the evening. After all, I wasn't sure when I'd get another opportunity to attend such an event. The car came to a stop and Jasper jumped out first, making sure to help each of the girls to step out of the car. I took my time because I didn't want to step on my dress and rip it. Once I was safely on the ground, I took in my surroundings. We were in front of a very expensive hotel by the looks of it. A red carped stretched towards the entrance with photographers on both sides.

"Are we attending Oscars or something?" I loud whispered to the girls which made them break out in laughter.

"Shall we?" Jasper came up to Alice and I and we hooked our arms to walk the red carpet together. "Just smile, Bella." He whispered in my ear when he felt me tense up. I swallowed by nervousness and smiled for the cameras. Hundreds of flashes went off and I was blinded for a moment. I heard Alice chuckle at my reaction. It wasn't fair-she was used to this type of thing but I was still new at this. We slowly made our way into the safety of the hotel.

"Bella." I heard Emmett call out behind us. "You look freaking hot!" He exclaimed. I blushed and shook my head at him. Only Emmett would say something like that in public place. We kept walking and I could feel the eyes of every man on me. I felt as if I was walking naked. Seriously, some of them were old enough to be my father.

"See, told you." Alice quipped.

"Just guide me towards alcohol. I have a feeling I'll be needing it tonight."

I had to admit, it wasn't that bad. Alice and Rose stuck by me throughout most of the evening. I danced with a few guys, including Emmett and Jasper but most of the time, I stood on the side. I saw Edward a few times but forced myself to look away.

"Bella." I turned to see Esme and Carlisle. "You look beautiful tonight."

"Thank you. So do you Esme." She did in her royal blue gown that went well with her caramel hair.

"Bella, would you indulge an old man and dance with me?" Carlisle asked.

"Carlisle, you are not old but I would love to dance with you."

"So how are liking Chicago?" He asked once we were on the dance floor.

"It has its pluses and minuses." I tried to sound diplomatic.

"The minuses wouldn't have anything to do with a certain nephew of mine, now would it?" He watched for my reaction. Sometimes I wished I could stop pretending like everything was okay. I felt like I was not only lying to everyone around me but also to myself.

"Carlisle."

"I just wanted to let you know that if you ever needed to talk, Esme and I would be more than happy to listen." His words brought tears to my eyes. Here was this man, who barely knew me and yet he treated me like his own daughter. "Here." He handed me a handkerchief once he saw my tears.

"Sorry." I laughed through the tears.

"Nothing to apologize for, Bella."

The song ended and he was about to lead me back when a voice I knew too well stopped me dead in my tracks.

"May I have this dance, Isabella?" I turned around and came face to face, well more like face to chest, with Edward. The way he said my name was so different from before. Before I could say anything, he took my hand in his and placed his other hand on my back, just where the cut in the back ended.

"Edward." I started saying something but made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They were still green but seemed darker than before. There was also a foreign emotion in them that I couldn't quiet place my finger on. We started moving to the music and he pulled me even closer to him.

"You look beautiful tonight but I'm sure you've been told that a lot already." His voice hypnotized me. I felt the heat rise to my face as he kept looking me in an intense gaze. He then spun me around and brought me back into him. I watched in amazement as the signature crooked smile appeared on his face. The song ended and I made a move to leave but Edward did not loosen his hold on me. If anything, he only held on stronger.

"Edward, I…I need to go. Please let go of me." I asked, trying not to sound desperate.

"I can't, Isabella. I've tried so many times but I can't seem to let you go." He whispered in a tortured voice and I saw him leaning closer to me. Panic set in because I realized he would kiss me. I couldn't let that happen because I knew my heart wouldn't be able to handle it.

I don't know how but I broke out of his embrace and ran towards the balcony. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't following and saw Emmett pulling him in the opposite direction. I let out a breath of relief and slammed into the door, opening it. I walked over to the edge of the balcony and took in a deep breath. Edward was going to kiss me, right in front of everybody. I couldn't understand his behavior. He acted so cold at work and then he turned around completely tonight. I was trying to process his words. He said he tried to let me go but couldn't. What did that mean?

My thoughts were interrupted by soft giggles and I peered over the balcony. On the lower lever was a couple engaged in some heavy making out. Well, at least someone was getting some tonight. I looked closer and recognized James as the male. I was shocked when I recognized the female-it was Victoria. What was she doing with James? I quickly whipped out my cell and pressed record.

"I can't believe he never found out about us." I heard Vicky say.

"I guess the poor fool never saw what was happening right under his nose this whole time." More kissing. "Although I have to admit, the pregnancy bit was ingenious, Vicky." They were in on it this whole time? I couldn't believe it.

"I knew he would try to do the right thing. If anything, Edward is a gentleman." She laughed.

I've had enough and ended the recording. I would give this to Edward on Monday. I turned to leave but Edward just walked out on the balcony.

"Bella, I…" He tried to say something but I grabbed his hand to try and get him out of here. He didn't need to witness this. "What are you trying to do?" He asked, confused by my actions.

"You can't be here."

"Why?"

"You can't see…"

"Ah, Bella. And Edward, of course." James sneered, coming up the stairs, his hand wrapped around Victoria's waist.

"James. Vicky." Her name sounded like an insult on his lips. "Enjoying the party?"

"You have no idea." Vicky purred, planting a kiss on James' neck. I grimaced in disgust.

"And how long has this been going on?" Edward sounded extremely calm. Both of them just smiled as they passed us by. They didn't know I overheard their conversation and recorded it. Once Edward's lawyer got a hold of this, Victoria wouldn't get a dime.

"Edward, you need to hear this." I handed him my cell and pushed play. I could see him getting angrier and angrier.

"Are they aware you've recorded their conversation?" He finally asked.

"No."

"Good. Mind if I borrow this?"

"Go ahead."

He left, probably looking for his lawyer. From what I understood, almost everyone Edward was involved with in business was here. I spent a few more moments in the fresh air before I stepped inside. I very worried Alice was waiting for me in the ballroom.

"Bella, is everything okay?"

"Yea, Alie, everything is fine." She didn't seem to believe me so I reassured her again. I guess she decided to drop it because she didn't bother me again. Edward seemed to be gone for a while and Alice was dancing with Jasper. I headed to the ladies' room to freshen up. Out of nowhere, someone grabbed me and slammed me against the wall.

"Do you know what you just did, you little whore." James spat at me. "Not only did you cheat Vicky out of her money but you also cost me my job." He grabbed me by my neck and was slowly increasing the pressure. "Now, I really liked that job. And you think just because you're sleeping with the boss, you can mess with other people's lives? Huh?" I was chocking at this point because my oxygen supply was cut off.

"Get your hands off of her, James." I heard Edward's voice.

"Or what? You think you can take me?" James laughed.

"No, but the three of us can." Emmett said. James, sensing that he was outnumbered, loosened his grip.

"You will pay for this." James hissed in my ear and let go of me. I was slowly sinking to the floor, gasping for air. I felt myself start to lose conciseness.

"Bella, are you okay? Say something." I heard Edward's panicking voice.

"I think she's passing out." Jasper said.

"Get Carlisle." Edward said and I felt him lifting me up. Once I was safely in his arms, I let blackness take me over.

"I think she's coming around." I heard someone whisper. "She should open her eyes any moment now."

"Bella, can you hear me? Can you please open those beautiful eyes of yours for me?" I recognized Edward's voice. Slowly, I opened my eyes, blinking at the light.

"Where…where am I?" My voice sounded hoarse. A glass of water appeared in front of me and gladly drank it.

"You're still at the hotel. We were able to get the staff open a free room for us." Edward explained, never taking his eyes off of me. I motioned that I was done drinking and he took the glass away.

"How are you feeling?" Carlisle asked. I had to think about it for a moment. I reached out to touch my neck but winced when my fingers made contact with it. I guess I was going to get some bruises.

"I'm guessing I'll have to wear a scarf for some time." I tried to joke. Apparently, Edward didn't get my humor.

"I'm so sorry about this, Bella."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. If I would've waited until tomorrow to fire James, you would not be in this situation."

"He would've done something either way. At least you were close by and scared him off." Edward snorted.

"Emmett scared him off, not me."

"It's because he doesn't know that Emmett's just a big teddy bear." I smiled and finally saw something along the lines of a smile form on his lips.

"Did I hear my name?" Speak of the devil. My friends rushed into the room and Edward stepped away to give them room.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay, Bella? Ooh, just wait until I get my hands on that bastard." A very angry Rose huffed.

"Rose, calm down. Deep breaths. Think about my unofficial niece and her health." I calmed her down. I slowly set up to get a better view. "I don't think James will be bothering me anymore. Your big lug scared him off." I winked at Emmett. He beamed proudly.

"Shit, Bella. Those are going to be some nasty bruises." Alice said.

"And that's why you'll be in charge of finding me things that will cover them up." I stood up and smoothed my dress out. "How about you guys go back to the party and I'll take a cab home." They tried to argue but I gave them a look that meant no arguing.

"If you're set on going home, I'd rather drive you there myself." Edward said.

"That's not necessary. You should stay and enjoy your evening."

"Nonsense. I've been to way too many of these things, I know how they end. Plus, I'd feel much better knowing you made it home safely."

"Okay." I had no more strength to argue with him.

"Great, I'll go pull up the car." He ran out of the room.

"Don't they have valets at these events?" I asked Alice.

"Yea but he REALLY loves his car."

I stepped out into the cool air of the night and saw Edward waiting by his car. Wow, he had a really nice car.

"I can see how you wouldn't want anyone else driving this baby." I said as I stepped closer to him. He grinned at me and opened my door. I thanked him and carefully got in.

"So let me give you the…"

"I know where to go, Bella."

"How?"

"I've asked Alice while you were out." I was still confused. "You didn't think I'd let you go home by yourself."

"How did you know I would want to go home?"

"I know you a lot better than you think." Edward winked at me. "I wanted to thank you for providing me with the evidence against Victoria."

"It's not a big deal. I'm sure anyone else would've done the same thing. I'm just glad I could help you out."

"You're really something, Isabella." He said. I had no comment to that so I turned to look out of the window. Soon enough, the car stopped in front of my building. Edward got out and opened the door for me. I had to agree with Vicky-he was truly a gentleman. "I'll walk you to your door." He said and put his hand on the smalls of my back. I bit my lip to prevent any sound from coming out of my mouth.

"Well, this is me." I announced as I dug for my keys. I smiled victoriously as I pulled them out and looked up to see Edward standing closer to me. I watched, unable to move, as he lifted his hand and cupped my face. I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. I heard my keys drop to the floor but made no effort to pick them up.

"Beautiful." I heard him whisper as his breath washed over my face. It wasn't long before his lips touched mine. He moved his lips slowly against mine, as if afraid to scare me of. I encouraged him as I brought myself closer to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. Edward let go of my face and wrapped both of his arms around my waist. Before long, our lips were moving frantically and I felt his tongue trace my bottom lip. I moaned at the sensation, opening my mouth. Something happened when our tongues met because I was suddenly pressed against my front door. Not that I minded. His hands were no longer on my waist but moving feverishly up and down my body. I sensed the need to oxygen and gently pushed him away. He got the point and released my lips, instead resting his forehead against mine. I kept my eyes closed for a few more moments and then opened them. I was met by a pair of the most brilliant green eyes. Both of us were breathing hard, trying to catch our breaths.

"Please don't say this was a mistake." I heard his say.

"If it was, then I don't mind repeating it." I confessed. His smile was blinding. I smiled back and reached down for my keys. My hands were shaking as I tried to stick the key into the hole. I heard Edward chuckle at my attempts and shot him a death glare. He raised his hands in surrender and mouthed "sorry". I finally got my door to open and turned back to him.

"Good night, Edward."

"Good night, Isabella." He leaned in and placed a kiss on my forehead. "Sweet dreams. I know mine will be."

I smiled and said good bye one more time before closing the door. Once inside, I clamped my mouth so the girlish squeal would not get out. This was definitely the best kiss of my entire life. I still couldn't believe that it happened. I went into my bedroom and changed into my pjs. I washed the make-up away and collapsed on my bed. I dreamed of none other than Edward Masen.


	7. Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

**Totally forgot to upload pics of dresses for the last chapter...so they are now up. Also, Bella's dress for this chapter is also there. Link to the photobucket account on my profile.**

**Okay, so this was long overdue but we're finally back to happy Bella :)  
**

**Billie Myers-Kiss The Rain**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything...SM does**

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I walked into the office with a little bounce in my step. I just put my things down when Edward asked me to come into his office. Million thoughts filled my mind and only one scared me-did he regret last night. I slowly stepped into the office. He asked me to close the door and motioned for me to walk extremely close to him. His face didn't give anything away. I stopped, leaving a few inches between us.

"You needed me?" I asked.

"I'll always need you , Isabella." Edward said as he pulled me down on his lap. I squeaked in surprise but the noise was cut off by Edward's lips. I moaned as he took my bottom lips between his teeth and gently bit down. I grabbed his neck to bring him closer. He was about to deepen our kiss when a knock on the door brought us out of our haze.

"Yes." He nearly barked and I stifled a laugh.

"Mr. Masen, Mr. Hale is here to see you." I heard Mary say. I heard Edward groan and tell her to give him couple of seconds. I stood up from my comfortable seat and I looked at his face. I smirked when I saw my lip gloss on his lips.

"What are you smiling at?"

"My lip gloss looks wonderful on you. I'll make sure to buy you your own." I winked at him as I wiped it off. I then quickly straightened out my outfit and took a seat in one of the chairs.

"Tell Mr. Hale he can come in now."

I heard the door open but kept my eyes on Edward.

"So if you will make those changes to the presentation by the end of the day that would be wonderful. That will be all, Isabella." I raised my eye brow at him and stood up to leave.

"Jasper." I greeted as I passed him by.

"Bella." He nodded.

I stepped out and ran to my office, closing the door behind me. I let out the giggle I've been holding in. I then got a wicked idea. I pulled my cell out and typed a message.

**Which presentation were you talking about? The one I just gave in your office?**

I didn't have to wait long for his reply.

**You will be the death of me, Isabella.**

I snorted and typed:

**I hardly doubt a plain old me could do something like that.**

His reply made my heart skip a beat.

**You're anything but plain. I think we should have this conversation later.**

**Whatever you say, boss.**

I was answering one of the emails when I heard a knock on my door. I looked up to see Jasper and gestured for him to come in.

"Working hard on that presentation?" He winked at me.

"Of course." I laughed, knowing he saw through our lie.

"The boss wants to see you. Maybe he wants a repeat of whatever happened before I came in." I shot him a glare. "Okay, okay, I'm leaving. You two kids have fun."

I shook my head and walked back into Edward's office. He was on the phone and I took a seat.

"Yea, tonight. Is that the only one available? Yea, I'll take it. Yes, correct. Wonderful, thank you so much." He hung up and looked at me. "Jasper just informed me that we're having some issues with the campaign we're working on. I have to leave for California this evening and will be gone for the rest of the week, if not longer." My face fell at his words. He stood up and walked over to me. "Please don't look so sad. I wish I didn't have to go, believe me. It feels like I've just found you and now I have to leave." I rose from my seat and reached up to kiss him.

"It's fine. Part of the job, right? I'll still be here when you come back." I said.

"Promise?"

"Yea, I promise." I kissed him again. "When are you leaving?"

"Actually, my flight leaves in three hours so I have to go home and pack. Jasper will be in charge so he'll let you know what you'll be doing."

"I'll see you soon."

"You will. I promise." He leaned in for one last kiss. I broke it first, knowing he had a lot to take care of before leaving. I helped him gather his things and walked back into my office. The rest of my day was pretty much screwed up.

I tried my best to put a happy face on but my friends saw right through it. Alice called to let me know that we were having a girl's night on Saturday. I knew what she meant by that. It was a code for "grill Bella with questions"night. Yey, I couldn't wait.

I just stepped into her house, when she dragged me into the living room where Angela and Rose were already waiting.

"Spill, Swan. And don't try to give me that "there's nothing to spill" excuse. You've been moping ever since a certain bronze haired man left for California."

"Fine, I miss him. Is that a crime?"

"But why would you be missing him?" Angela asked. Three pairs of eyes were looking at me and I couldn't take it anymore.

"Because we kissed when he dropped me off at home on Saturday night and then again in his office on Monday. And those were the best kisses in my entire life. Oh, and I'm completely in love with the man, only he has no idea." I screamed at the top of my lungs. There was silence in the room and the three of them looked shocked.

"Wow." Angela said. "That's all I can really say."

"See, I told you it would work out." Alice clapped and Rose was wearing a huge grin on her face. "So when's the wedding? Ooh, can I plan it?" Pixie kept throwing questions at me.

"Whoa, slow down, Alie. What wedding? We're not even dating yet. At least I don't think so."

"Eh, it's a start." Nothing could defeat Alice. "How about we get you drunk so you can forget all of your troubles?"

"Not too drunk. I still need to get home."

"You can crash here."

"Mkay." Were my famous last words.

***

"Wakey, wakey." I heard an extremely sweet voice say.

"Go away." I grumbled.

"Bel-la." An annoyed Alice said in my ear. She then proceeded to open the blinds.

"Ugh, light. Alie, please make the light go away." I begged, shielding my eyes.

"Okay." Her musical laughter filled the room and I cringed at the sound.

"How much wine did I drink last night?" I slowly sat up. I had a killer headache.

"Here, drink this." She handed me two pills and a glass of water. "It wasn't the wine that messed you up."

"I know for a fact you only have wine in your house. I mean, other than Jasper's tequi…Oh no, tell me I didn't."

"Yep, you now owe him a new bottle."

"I finished all of it?"

"Most of it. Angela and I helped out a bit."

"Ugh, no wonder I feel like crap."

"Well, I've made some coffee. So how about you go take a shower and I'll make you some toast and eggs."

"You're a saint, Alie."

"I know." She bounced out of the room.

I had to admit, hot shower did help a bit. I made sure to make slow movements since my head was still pounding. Mental note: stay away from tequila. I put my clothes from last night and walked into the kitchen. Jasper and Alice were chatting away.

"Good morning, Bella. Wow, you look like crap." Jasper said.

"Thanks, Jazz. I feel like it too. Now, where's that coffee you promised?" Alice handed me a cup of steaming coffee and I drank it greedily. I took a bite out of the toast, making myself eat it. I needed some food in my stomach.

"Okay, I'll be outside if you need me." Jasper said.

"Oh hey, I'll get you a new bottle."

"Don't worry about it, Bella. I'm glad it went towards a good cause."

"Smart ass." He laughed as he closed the door gently.

"You need anything else?" Alice asked.

"No. I'm actually going to head home. Thanks for the fun night."

"Bye."

The rest of my Sunday was spent trying to recuperate from the massive hangover. I was hoping Edward would come back on Monday. I didn't call or text him because I knew he'd be super busy with the client. Plus, I didn't want to seem clingy.

Monday came around and I was disappointed when Edward was no show. Jasper told me that he would probably be there for another week. I tried not to show how disappointed I was by the news. Another week without Edward would be horrible.

On Thursday, Jasper told me that I needed to fly to California because Edward needed my help. He told me to go home and pack since I'd be leaving later in the evening. I called Alice and told her to get her butt over to my place to help pack.

"Let me see your bruises so I can figure out what to pack." I was glad that they didn't turn out that bad. They were barely noticeable by now. "Great, that leaves a lot of options open."

She threw in some business attire but most of it was for every day. I kept my mouth shut until she threw in a bikini and a blue sparkling mini dress.

"Alice, why would I need those items?"

"They have pools in the hotel, Bella. As for the dress, you can never be unprepared."

"You know what, I'm not even going to argue with you. What's the point, you win anyways."

"Yey, you finally learned." She said while throwing in silver heels to go with the dress.

"Just one question. I know for a fact I don't own that dress or those shoes. Where did they come from?"

"Oh, I'm lending them to you. I hope you put them to a good use. Okay, you're all set."

"Thank you, Alie."

"Sure, I'll drop you off at the airport."

With Alice's crazy driving, we made it there in plenty of time. I got bored waiting and purchased a magazine in one of the stores. I was about to start over on reading it when my flight was called. During the flight, I couldn't calm down and was relieved when we finally landed. I was glad I only had carry- on bag and didn't have to wait in the baggage claim area. I was looking around for Edward when I was suddenly lifted up in the air. I screamed in surprise but realized I was in Edward's arms. He put me down and I pouted at him.

"You promised." I poked him in the chest.

"What?"

"You promised to never sneak up on me."

"Shoot, I'm so sorry, love. I promise I will keep my last promise." He grinned at me. I shook my head and then his words hit me. He called me love. Did he mean anything by it? "How was your flight?" Edward grabbed my bag and wrapped his arm around my waist, guiding me through the crowd.

"Long. Have I mentioned how much I hate flying?"

"Nope." He stopped in front of a black Volvo and opened the trunk to put my bag in there.

"A Volvo, really?" I smirked.

"What? It's a sensible car." He argued as he opened the door for me.

"Okay, whatever you say, Edward." He sat down and took off. Gosh, I thought Rose was a crazy driver but she was nothing compared to Edward. "Where's the fire?" I asked, holding on to the handle for my dear life.

"I'm just trying to show you the benefits of this car." He grinned wickedly at me.

"Okay, fine. It's a nice car. Can you please slow down?!" I screamed.

"No need to scream, sweetheart." Edward said, slowing down just a bit.

"Thank you." I said, looking out the window.

"Hey, you're not mad at me?" He asked, taking my hand in his.

"I could never be mad at you, Edward." I smiled at him.

"Good."

The rest of the drive was spent in comfortable silence. I liked the fact that we didn't have to constantly keep talking in order to enjoy each other's company. We pulled into a nice looking hotel and took an elevator to the top floor. Edward opened the door of the room and I gasped when I walked in. The place was huge.

"You like it?"

"It's amazing. But why this room? I mean, we'll be spending most of our time with the clients."

"Remember how you told me you could never be mad at me?"

"Yea."

"Well, I sort of finished everything today and I just wanted to spend time with you."

"Are you saying that you flew me all the way to California in order to spend some alone time with me?" I wanted to make sure I heard him correctly.

"Yeah." I kept staring at him. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what was going on in that man's head. "Baby, please say something."

"I'm trying to decide if I should hit you or kiss you."

"I would prefer the second option but it's all up to you." Without a warning I launched myself at him and kissed him hard. "So you're not mad?" He mumbled against my lips.

"Nope."

"Great. Are you tired?" I shook my head. "What do you say to going out to a club?"

"I say, how much time do I have?"

"About an hour."

"Kay, point me in the right direction of the bathroom." He showed me into the master suite. I grabbed a quick shower and started getting ready. I sent a text to Alice thanking her for the dress. She told me to have fun. Oh, I was planning on it.

I blow dried my hair to give it some volume and put on some dark eye shadow to bring out my eyes. I opted for a light pink lip gloss since my eye shadow was dark. I pulled the dress on and it fit me like a glove. It was bit short for my taste but I figured it fitted the occasion. I legs looked mile long in the shoes Alice picked out for me. I had to admit that the Pixie knew how to make look good. I especially loved the dress because it was covered in sequins and would catch the light.

"Okay, I'm ready." I called out as I made my way back into the room. The moment Edward saw me, his mouth fell open. I laughed at his reaction and did a little spin for him

"You like?"

"I thought the green dress was my favorite but now it's this blue dress." He stood up and walked over to me. "You, Isabella, look exquisite."

"Thank you. You look very handsome this evening." I said, admiring him in a black dress shirt and a pair of jeans. He rolled up the sleeves and left the shirt untucked. I could practically feel the drool running down my face. "Ahem , shall we go?" I asked, trying to gain some control over my reaction.

The club turned out to be the hottest spot in the city. I was glad we were on the list because the line was huge. Edward walked me over to an available table and told me to take a seat.

"I'm going to get us something to drink. What would you like?"

"Anything you'll get me will be fine." I wasn't too picky. While he was gone, I looked around. The place was packed. I heard a chair move and assumed it was Edward.

"That didn't take that long." I said without turning around. He didn't answer and instead put his hand on my knee. Only it wasn't Edward's hand. I turned to see some frat boy, sitting there with a grin on his face.

"Take your hand off me." I said, trying to move away from him. His grip tightened, making me wince in pain.

"Aw, don't be like that, baby. I'm just trying to get to know you."

"I don't think so. How about you take your filthy hands off me and walk away while you still can."

"Or what?"

"Or my very angry boyfriend will kick your ass." I said, noticing Edward standing behind him.

"Yea, right." He said, turning around.

"You heard the lady. Get your paws off of her while you still have them." He growled. The poor boy looked like he was ready to pee in his pants and ran off.

"I leave you for five minutes and some punk tries to take you away." Edward sat down.

"What can I say, I love it when you come to my rescue. It's kind of hot." I took a sip of my drink.

"Really?" He asked, leaning closer to me. His eyes were burning with clear desire.

"Yea." I said breathlessly, trapped in his gaze. I put my drink and closed the distance between us. Edward lifted me out of my chair and placed me on his lap. My hands went into his hair, tugging him closer to me. I did the same thing he did to me some weeks ago and gently bit down on his lower lip. I heard him growl as he deepened our kiss. We broke apart, breathing heavily. I rested my head on his shoulder and felt him tracing my spine. I heard one of my favorite songs start to play.

"Dance with me?" I asked.

"Whatever you want."

We made our way to the dance floor and took ours spots. Edward stood behind me, placing his hands on my hips. I wrapped my hands around his neck and we started moving to the beat of the song. After a few moments, his hands left my hips and rested on my waist, pulling me closer. I could feel him breathing down my neck and it sent shivers down my spine. We kept moving our hips and something dawned on me. I spun around in his arms and reached up to kiss him. He answered eagerly. I pulled away from his lips.

"Edward, take me back to the hotel." I whispered in his ear. It took him a moment to realize what I meant.

"Are you sure?" He searched my eyes for any trace of doubt.

"You have no idea."

We literally ran out of the club and I'm pretty sure Edward broke every posted speed limit while going back to the hotel. This time, I didn't complain about his driving.


	8. Revelations

**Hope you like this one. I know it seems like things are moving fast for those two but keep in mind, they have a lot of lost time to make up for.  
**

**Lenka-Don't Let Me Fall**

**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight **

* * *

"Mmm…I'm so replacing my alarm clock with you." I mumbled sleepily as I felt Edward kissing my shoulder. I felt him laugh at my comment.

"Is that what' I've been reduced to? An alarm clock?" I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted by his smiling face.

"I'm sure I could find other uses for you." I said, sprawling myself across his chest.

"I'm sure." He mumbled against my hair. "How do you feel?" He suddenly sounded concerned.

"Really good." I smiled against his chest.

"I'm serious."

"A bit sore but that's to be expected." I lifted my head up to look at him. He still looked concerned.

"I wish you would've told me beforehand."

"Would that have changed anything?"

"No." A lazy smile made its way on his face. "But I would've been more careful." Edward reached out and traced my cheek.

"You didn't hear me complaining, now did you?" I smirked and placed a loud kiss in the middle of his chest.

"Isabella, you are the most dangerous creature I have ever met." He suddenly lunged and I ended up on my back. He was smirking down at me. "Not that I'm complaining."

"That's what I thought." I reached up and closed the distance between us. We broke apart some time later, trying to normalize our breathing. Our moment was interrupted by a loud grumble of my stomach.

"Hungry?" Edward asked, knowing full well the answer.

"For food, among other things." I winked at him.

"Isabella." He warned.

"I know, I know. I'll be good, I promise."

"Good. Why don't you go take a shower and meet me in the living room?" He rolled off of me, setting me free.

"You won't join me?" I raised my eyebrow as I wrapped the sheet around me.

"You are seriously testing my self-control."

"I do what I can."

"Yes, you do. Now go." He said, slapping me on my behind. I got the point. I took a bit longer in the shower, relishing in the feel of hot water against my skin. I quickly dried off and searched my bag for something suitable to wear. I picked a sleeveless yellow sundress that I paired with multicolor wedges and light green necklace.

I stepped into the living room to find Edward talking on his phone. He changed into a light blue shirt and jeans. Yep, I definitely loved his casual look more and more. He saw me come in and his eyes traveled from the top of my head to my toes. I noticed they darkened once he looked back up. I smirked, letting him now I noticed his reaction. He finally hung up and walked over to me.

"You look stunning." Edward said, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Ready to go?"

We drove to a small mom and pop restaurant. Edward swore they had the best breakfast. After trying my food, I had to agree with him. I dug into my food, enjoying every bite. After a few moments, I noticed Edward staring at me.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just your face displays so many emotions when you eat. It's fascinating to watch."

"I'm glad you're enjoying the show. Now, why don't you eat your food before it gets cold?"

"Yes, mother." He smiled. I made a face and went back to enjoying my food.

"So, what's the plan for today?" I asked once we were in the car.

"I thought a trip to the beach would be nice." The crooked grin appeared.

"Sun, sand, and water. What could be better?" I laughed, feeling extremely happy. Throughout the whole drive, Edward held on to my hand and I couldn't help smiling at the gesture. We parked, took off our shoes, and ran towards the water. I dipped my toe, feeling the temperature and walked into the water until it was a bit above my ankles. I looked back to see Edward rolling up his pants so he could join me. He walked in and stood behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I could stay like this forever." I said, enjoying his touch.

"Me too." He whispered and placed a kiss on my shoulder. I turned around to face him and reached up to kiss him. His hands snaked around my waist and he raised me up, bringing us closer. After a few minutes, he put me back down. I couldn't look away from his eyes because there was such a soft expression in them. If I haven't been watching him closely, I would've missed the sudden change in his expression. He suddenly got a mischievous glint in his eyes and backed away from me. I was confused for a moment before I realized a crucial piece of information. We were standing in the water.

"Edward, you wouldn't dare!" I exclaimed as he bent down and gathered water in his palms.

"You want to bet, love?" I was so distracted by love bit that I didn't even move when he splashed me.

"Edward!" I screamed. He just laughed and gathered more water. Oh, it was on. I bent down, lowered my hands into water and brought them back to the surface with all of my strengths. Edward's front was pretty much soaked completely. Before I had time to react, he was beside me and lifted me up bridal style. He then started walking further into the water.

"Edward, no, don't do…" My words got caught off because he threw me into the water. I emerged, coughing and sputtering, while Edward was laughing at me. We were in about waist deep water so I knew what I would do. I marched over to him, kicked his feet from under him (I was grateful to my dad in that moment for showing me self-defense moves) and pushed him into the water. He surfaced a moment later, spitting out the water. "It's all fun and games until someone does it to you, isn't it Edward?" I looked down and pouted at my wet dress. "Now my dress is all wet."

"I think I like it better wet."

"You would." I poked his chest.

"Will you forgive me if I tell you I have two huge towels in the car?"

"I'd forgive you even if you didn't have the towels." I kissed him. "But why don't you go get them anyways."

We walked out on the sand and I waited while Edward ran to the car. It was a hot day so I knew I'd get dry soon. Edward came back and laid the towels out. I flopped on top of one and closed my eyes, enjoying the sun on my skin.

"Bella." I heard Edward call out. I turned in his direction without opening my eyes. "Will you look at me?" I smiled and opened my eyes. "There you are." He reached out and moved a stray piece of hair out of my eyes. My heart went into overdrive as it always did when he was close.

"Thanks." I whispered, loosing myself in his eyes.

"I don't know how to ask this without sounding like a teenager in high school."

"So just ask." I encouraged him.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Edward asked, a sweet smile playing on his lips.

"You're asking me to go steady with you?" I clarified.

"If that's how you want to look at it, then yes." He was searching my face for any indication. I moved closer to him and whispered "yes" against his lips. Edward's reaction was instantaneous and I was trapped beneath him. Our lips moved hungrily against each other and our hands were exploring each other's bodies. We heard a loud "Ahem" that brought us out of our blissful bubble. I looked up to see an older lady standing over us. I mouthed "sorry" to her but she shook her head at us. I flopped back and began laughing. Edward rolled off of me and I heard him chuckling.

"I feel like such a teenager." I giggled. I turned to see him staring intently at me. "What?"

"I still can't believe that you're mine." He confessed.

"Well, you better believe it, mister." I said, rolling closer to him.

"You know what that means, right?"

"No." I said hesitantly. He had that look on his face again. The one that was followed by me getting drenched in the ocean. He jumped to his feet and yelled so people around us could hear him. "That this beautiful woman is mine!"

A whole bunch of people turned to see who the crazy person was. I blushed and hid my face in embarrassment. I felt him drop down beside me. I looked to see him grinning like a cat that just got a cannery.

"Gosh, you're even worse than Emmett." I sighed.

"And yet you agreed to be my girlfriend." He said, looking quite proud of himself. I couldn't stay mad at him even if I tried. "You ready to head back?"

"Yes. I feel all icky from the salt water. I'm going to need to take another shower." I stood up and picked up my towel.

"Yea, me too." He took my hand in his. "Want to help the planet and conserve the water?" He wagged his eyebrows. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was Emmett's brother and not a cousin. I don't think we helped the planet at all since we took a very long shower.

***

"Isabella Marie Swan, you had sex!" Alice accused the moment she stepped into my apartment, followed by Rose and Angie. I invited them over the Saturday Edward and I got back.

"Wow, Rose. You look ready to give birth." I tried to change the subject.

"Don't even try that." Rose said. I sighed. There would be no escaping this one.

"How do you even know?"

"You have that glow about you." Alice explained. "So give us all the details. How was it?" All three of them were waiting for me to answer.

"It was amazing and that's all I'm saying."

"Oh, come on!" They groaned.

"Hey, you don't hear me asking you three. And, no, I don't want to know. So deal with it."

"It's not like I expected you to give any details." Alice shrugged.

"Then why ask?" I exclaimed.

"Eh, had to try."

"You're impossible."

"Yea, but you love me." She retorted.

"Anyways, did you girls have an exciting weekend?"

"Obviously not as exciting at yours." Rose said. "I hear a certain new couple formed."

"How did you find out?" I gasped. I looked around and none of them were surprised. "Wait, how come you two don't look surprised?"

"Well, Edward told Emmett and you know Emmett, he can't keep a secret even if his life dependent on it. So he called Jasper and told him. Ben was with Jasper at the moment and Jasper shared the good news." Angela explained.

"Wow! They are worse than women." It was amazing how fast everyone found out. "Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag."

"All I have to say, and I'm sure you two agree with me, is about time. Took you two long enough." Alice raised her glass and all of us toasted. It felt good to be back with my friends, even if they were annoying.

"I'm going to need some help." I announced.

"What for?" Angela asked.

"Edward's taking me to his parents' house for dinner tomorrow night." I gulped.

"Ah, meeting the parents. You two must be serious." Alice commented. I just shrugged. I wasn't sure how serious our relationship was. I mean, we just became a couple and I wasn't entirely sure how Edward felt about me. And meeting the parents seemed like a big step. Even though I was sure of my feelings for him, I didn't want to assume anything about him.

"So what kind of help do you need exactly?"

"Fashion, of course." I looked at the three of them. "So you have my permission to raid my closet and select something appropriate for tomorrow."

Two of them shot up from their seats and ran towards my bedroom, while Rose waddled after them. I heard some serious arguing going on before they came back with a strapless black dress. I remember buying it a while back but never having a chance to wear it.

"So, you're going to wear this dress and pair it with those black pumps of yours. Keep your make-up simple and natural. Oh, and pull your hair in a low bun. Okay?" Alice instructed me.

"Yep, got it. Thank you girls!" I was relieved that I wouldn't have to worry about that tomorrow. Knowing me, I'd go into panic mode. They spent a couple more hours before heading home.

I spent Sunday morning and afternoon trying not to be too nervous. Edward was supposed to pick me up at five. Around three, I decided to start getting ready. In order to calm myself, I took a long relaxing bath. I then proceeded to do everything Alice told me and was ready to go at ten till five. At exactly five, there was a knock on my door. I opened it and was greeted by a site of Edward in a crispy white dress shirt and black slacks. I stopped myself from jumping his right there and then.

"Hello, beautiful." He greeted me and leaned in for a kiss. "You're ready to go?" I grabbed my purse and followed him out. On the drive to the house I kept fidgeting.

"Bella, you need to calm down. They'll love you."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the girl who's about to meet the parents of her boyfriend, who probably already think lowly of her since their son is still a married man." I ranted.

"For your information, I am no longer married. The divorce was finalized on Wednesday." He grinned at me. "And trust me, they already think highly of you."

"Whoa, back up to the part about the divorce being finalized."

"Yep, as of Wednesday afternoon, I'm a free man."

"And you didn't say anything to me earlier because…" I trailed off.

"Because I was occupied with other things." He smirked.

"But you are wrong about one thing." I looked over at him, a smug smile on my face.

"Please, enlighten me."

"You're not a free man anymore. As of Friday, you belong to me." I said, planting a kiss on his lips.

We walked into the house (which by the way was another mansion) and heard some noises coming from the kitchen.

"Mom, dad?" Edward called out.

"In the kitchen." I heard a feminine voice, who I assumed was his mother. I let out a shaky breath and let Edward lead me. First person I noticed was a beautiful woman with the same shade of hair as Edward and green eyes. I guess that's where he got his unique coloring from. Next to her was a tall man, with light brown hair and grey eyes.

"Mom, dad, this is Isabella. And these are my parents, Elizabeth and Edward Sr." He introduced us.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Masen." I said, shaking their hands.

"Believe me, the pleasure is all ours. And please call us Elizabeth and Edward." Elizabeth said, returning my greeting.

"Well, I guess you should call me Edward Sr. not to confuse anyone." Edward's father joked. "Edward, may I speak to you for a moment?" He motioned his son out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Elizabeth.

"Do you need any help with anything?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that, dear. The food is almost ready."

"Okay." I glances around, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable.

"So you're the famous Isabella." Elizabeth stated, looking straight at me.

"I guess I am." I chuckled nervously. "I just didn't realize I was famous."

"Well, Emmett couldn't stop talking about you. And then there's Edward..." She trailed off.

"Edward talked about me?" I was intrigued now.

"Talked would not be an appropriate word. He didn't really have to say anything, his behavior gave everything away." She said cryptically. I must have looked extremely confused. "A mother knows when her son is truly happy. And it seems that you're the only woman who actually achieved that."

"I'm sure Victoria made him happy." I countered.

"Not as much as you did." Elizabeth smiled, stepping closer to me. "Isabella, you're the only one who made my Edward happy. You have no idea how worried I was after the whole debacle with that hussy. I expected Edward to retreat back into himself, which he did for a bit. And then he came back to life. I knew right away that he found someone who really cared for him. I've been waiting for him to finally bring you for some time now because I wanted to thank you in person."

"Thank me for what?" I was trying to figure out what was going on.

"For showing my son that not every woman is out for his money." Elizabeth smiled. "And for bringing him back to me." I tilted my head in confusion. "You see, he was so busy with work and trying to please Victoria that he barely had time for us. But everything changed for the better."

"Wow, that is not what I was expecting at all."

"Did you expect me to run you out of the house?" She looked surprised.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did. I know how our situation looks to other people."

"Exactly. But I know better."

"I just wanted to let you know that I would never hurt Edward like Victoria did. I saw how hurt he was by her betrayal and I, well, I…" I trailed off not knowing if I should say those words.

"You love my son." She finished for me. I nodded. "And he loves you."

"I'm not sure if that's…"

"Trust me, he does. It's easy to see, especially when the two of you are together. There's this energy around you two. It's quiet amazing. I'm glad he finally found the woman who truly loves him." By the time she was finished, I had tears in my eyes. I walked over to her and hugged her, thanking her for the kind words. Of course, the men chose this moment to walk back in.

"What's going on?" I heard Edward asking. I quickly wiped the tears away and turned towards him.

"Nothing, sweetheart. Just having a "girls only" conversation." Elizabeth winked at me. "Why don't you show Isabella around the house?" She gently pushed me in Edward's direction.

"I will. And it's Bella. She prefers Bella." Edward took my hand in his and guided me out of the kitchen.

He showed me various rooms of the house and we walked into a room that housed a baby grand piano.

"Wow, it's a beautiful instrument."

"Yea, beautiful." He said, staring at me.

"Whose is it?"

"Mine."

"You play?" I was surprised. Instead of answering, Edward walked over to the piano and sat down, patting the spot next to him. As I was sitting down, he started playing a beautiful melody. I closed my eyes, enjoying the beautiful sounds. My eyes shot open as the last note faded. "It's beautiful. Who is it by?"

"I wrote it." He answered, looking deeply into my eyes. "I got inspired to compose this peace after you entered my life."

"Thank you, Edward." I whispered. He reached out and cupped my face.

"I know this might be too soon and I really hope I won't scare you off, but I really need to tell you something." I nodded for him to continue. "I love you, Isabella. I don't expect you to say it back but I just wanted to let you know. I can no longer keep it inside." I finally realized what the foreign emotion in his eyes was.

"Oh, Edward, I love you, too." I said, kissing him. "You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say those words." I confessed.

"Not as long as I have. I think I fell in love with you the first day I met you."

"How…"

"I knew it was wrong since I was still married to Vicky at that point but I couldn't stop thinking about you. I've spoken to my lawyer a few weeks before you started working, seeing what my options were. I knew that my marriage was on the brink of collapsing and then you came into my life. The moment I saw you, I wanted to make you mine. I've never felt such strong emotions towards any other woman before and it scared me to death. So that night, I spoke to Vicky and told her it was over. She didn't take that well but I was fed up with everything. I wasn't sure how to act towards you at first. I knew my behavior was more than friendly but I tried to justify it by saying that I was just trying to be a good friend towards you."

"But after you prevented me from falling, you acted more distant. And then after the whole almost kiss at the Cullens' house." I remembered.

"At that point, I had a pretty good idea of how I felt about you but I knew that you deserved more that I could have offered you at that moment. Plus, I wasn't sure how you felt about me. And then you said that it was a silly mistake and I thought you were indifferent towards me. You have no idea how much that hurt me, how difficult it was for me to be in the same room with you."

"I'm so sorry. I just thought it would be easier if I said those words before you could. I didn't want to be hurt any more than I already was." I remembered the pain I felt during that time.

"Why were you hurting?" He looked confused.

"Because I was already head over heels for you. I've tried so hard to fight my feelings for you. After all, you were my boss and you were married."

"Both of us were so blind and stupid." He shook his head in disbelief.

"Yea."

"And then I saw you at the gala and you looked beyond words. I knew I could no longer stay away from you, no matter how hard I tried."

"I'm glad you didn't stay away." I said, leaning in for a kiss. What I thought would be a short, sweet one turned into a very passionate one.

"Edward, Bella-dinner's ready." Elizabeth's voice interrupted us. I pulled away and stood up, smoothing out my dress. I looked at Edward, making sure there weren't any traces of my lip gloss on his lips.

"Good to go?" He asked, smiling softly.

"Yep."

"You have a beautiful home, Elizabeth." I commented after we sat down.

"Thank you, dear." She turned to Edward. "Did I hear you playing?"

"Yes, mom."

"I'm glad you started playing again. It's been too long."

"It has." He agreed, squeezing my hand under the table. I smiled, acknowledging his gesture.

The rest of the evening was spent listening to stories of Edward's childhood. Elizabeth even pulled out a photo album, showing me the cuteness that was Edward Masen. I now had new teasing material in my arsenal.

***

The weeks leading up to the birth of the Cullen baby were spent in blissful happiness for me. Edward and I acted like any other couple in love and couldn't keep our hands off each other. It took everyone at work a few days to figure out that we were together. Of course, it helped that Edward was less than discrete. I really didn't mind much.

It was Friday night on August 4th that we got the long awaited phone call. Rosalie had gone into labor and everyone was rushing to the hospital.

"How is she?" I asked Esme.

"As well as she's expected to be." A loud scream sounded through the door. "I feel bad for Emmett. She's throwing everything at him." She chuckled.

"I'm going to go say hi." I told Edward.

"I'll go with you. I think we should relieve Emmett." Esme spoke up.

"Hey Rose." I greeted her. Her beautiful face was read and sweat covered her forehead. "How are you?"

"Oh, just peachy." She said through clenched teeth. "Where do you think you're going?" She snapped at Emmett who was making his escape.

"I'm just going to go say hi to Edward."

"Your ass better be back here in five minutes." Poor Emmett. I felt sorry for him.

"Here, this will help." I said, placing a wet cloth on her forehead. I then wiped her face down so she'd have at least some sort of relief.

"Thank you, Bella. I think I've scared Emmett for life." She laughed.

"He's a big boy. I'm sure he can take it." Esme handed her some ice. "How bad is it?"

"Nearly bearable. I'm just waiting for them to give me drugs. They should be here any…aaaaah!" She must have been having another contraction. I took her hand and let her squeeze mine. It passed after a few moments and I had my hand back. I shook it, trying to bring some feeling back into it. "Sorry." She apologized.

The door flew open and Alice strolled in.

"Okay, I told all of the boys to wait outside. I don't think they'd be much help." Pixie bounced over to Rose. "Well, don't you look just lovely." Sarcasm was evident in her voice.

"Shut it, Pixie." Rose shot back. Esme and I exchanged smiles. The door opened again and this time Rose's long awaited drugs arrived. Esme and Alice seemed to have it under control and I excused myself. I bet Emmett was freaking out.

"How is she?" He asked the moment I closed the door.

"She's fine. They're giving her the drugs right now." He seemed to relax.

I walked over to where Edward was sitting and plopped down into his lap.

"Hey, beautiful." He greeted me.

"Hey." I kissed him slowly.

"How is our Rose holding up?"

"I think you should be more worried about Emmett than her."

"Probably." He snorted. "Why don't you rest for a little bit? I'm sure it's going to be a while before anything happens."

"Mkay." I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. Some hours later, I awoke and found Edward also sleeping. He had his hands wrapped tightly around me and I tried getting out of his grasp.

"Where do you think you're going?" I heard him ask.

"I have to go to the bathroom." He released me right away. I stood up stretching and watched him stretch in the chair. I kissed him on his forehead before heading in the direction of the restroom. When I returned, I noticed that both Elizabeth and Edward Sr. were here. I walked over to them to say hello.

"Oh, hello sweetheart. Edward told me to let you know that he went on a coffee run."

"Okay, thank you. Any news on Rose?"

"We're still waiting."

"What time is it?"

"It's five in the morning." Edward Sr. answered after looking at his watch.

"Oh wow, I slept for a while."

"You two looked so adorable, sleeping together." Elizabeth gushed. I blushed at her comment.

"There you are." I heard Edward say. I turned and grabbed the coffee cup out of his hands.

"Good boy." I exclaimed before drinking the deliciousness that was coffee.

"Should I wag my tail, then?" He chuckled. Before I could comment on that, I heard some commotion and peaked around the corner.

"Alice, what's going on?"

"She's finally ready."

I grabbed Edward's hand and dragged him towards the room. I let his parents know that Rose was going into labor. Esme and Emmett went into the room while the rest of us waited patiently outside. Finally, at seven in the morning, we heard the small cry of Lillian Olivia Cullen. All of us sighed in relief and burst out in cheers. After another half hour, a very proud Emmett stepped out and told us to come in.

"Everyone, meet Lillian." Rose beamed, holding a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. She then handed her to Emmett. After a few moments, Lillian was passed to each member of the family. It was finally my turn to hold her. I cautiously took her into my arms and my heart melted.

"Hi, Lilly." I cooed. "I'm your unofficial auntie Bella. You have a very loving family. Trust me, they're the best. Even your aunt Alice, who scares me sometimes. Word of advice, do not agree to go shopping with her." I heard laughter in the room at my last comment. I then passed her to Edward, who's been watching me intently this whole time. He took her into his arms as if he's done this a thousand times before. He looked so natural with a baby in his arms. And then it hit me. I wanted to marry this man and have his kids. I wanted him to be holding our baby and smiling down at her or him. There was no doubt in my mind-I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.


	9. Something to Celebrate

**It's Wednesday and today was my last exam. I am officially a free woman (exam wise, lol). Yey!!!!! Just two more days until I leave for Greece. **

**I really LOVE writing happy chapters, so enjoy!!!**

**This one goes out to suesue87 because she got the best news in the world and she was kind enough to share it with me. :) Speaking of her, she finally posted the first chapter of her story (after I kept bugging her...hehehe). Go check it out.  
**

**PS: I won't have access to my laptop next week so I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow. Just the heads up. Consider it an early Christmas present ;)**

**Perry Farrell-Go All The Way (Into The Twilight)**

**Disclaimer: SM owns all. **

* * *

"I'm thinking of looking for a new place." I announced during our lunch. Two pair of eyes turned in my direction. Rose has been absent for now. She did have a new baby to take care of.

"Why?" Angela asked.

"Well, I signed the contract for only six months and now I'm thinking of finding a place closer to work."

"You mean closer to Edward's place." All knowing Alice said.

"Maybe." I have been spending quite a lot time at Edward's place. It was a lot closer to the office building, which was perfect.

"I'll help you look for a new place." Alice promised, a calculating look on her face. I didn't even want to know.

***

"So I was thinking…" Edward trailed off. We were currently snuggled up on his couch.

"Yea?"

"Why don't you move in with me?"

"What?" I shot up in surprise.

"You practically live here. And your lease is coming to an end soon."

"Alice." I grumbled. So I guess this was her way of helping me look for a place.

"So what do you say?" Edward seemed nervous.

"Isn't it a bit too fast?" I questioned.

"Love, I think we've wasted enough time." He countered. He was right. We have and I was done doubting everything.

"Okay." I agreed.

"Okay?" He repeated.

"Yep. I'll move in with you." I smiled at his happy face.

I spent the next week gathering everything together,selling my furniture and settling in. I was currently in the kitchen, putting some plates away and decided to see what was in the fridge. There was a while bunch of take-out containers, a carton of milk, and a lonely tomato. When I opened the freezer, I gasped in horror.

"Edward, can you please come here for a second?" I called out, still staring in wonder at the items before me.

"Is something the matter?" He asked, walking towards me.

"What's this?" I pointed at the offending items.

"Umm...food?"

"You call that food?" I wrinkled my nose at the sight of numerous boxes of frozen dinners.

"Yea...is that a problem?" He sounded a bit surprised.

"Have you ever heard of home cooked meals?" He opened his mouth to reply but I placed my hand over it. "And I don't mean the ones that come out of the boxes." I removed my hand so he could answer me.

"I have but I can't cook so this is the next best option. They're not that bad, love." He tried to reason with me.

"Well, I see my work is cut out for me." I sighed. "Are you busy?" He shook his head. "Great! Then let's go!"

"And where are we going?"

"To the grocery store, of course." I grinned. "I'm going to teach you how to shop properly."

"Edward, put the box down!" I exclaimed as he picked up yet another box of some sugary cereal.

"Bella." He whined. "But these are Lucky Charms."

"I don't care what they are, put them down right now." I demanded, placing my hands on my hips.

"They're magically delicious." He tried to argue. I raised my eyebrow at his childish behavior and Edward pouted in return.

"Fine." I huffed, knowing I wouldn't be able to say no to him. "You can have your magically delicious cereal." He grinned at me as he dropped a second box of that crap into the cart. "If I would have known you'd behave like a child, I would have left you at home." I admitted, shaking my head at him.

"And yet, you love me."

"I'm really starting to doubt my decisions at this point." I joked. Before I knew it, he was at my side, his lips crashing into mine. When he finally let me go, I leaned against him, trying to catch my breath.

"Still doubting your decisions?" I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Nope."

"Wonderful." He unwrapped his hands. "How about we go finish grocery shopping?"

***

The following week, we invited our friends over for a dinner to celebrate the big move.

"Belly! How are you?" A very proud Emmett walked in, carrying Lilly.

"Papa Bear!" I went over to hug him. Ever since he became a father, I modified his nickname. Of course, he loved it. "And how's my sweet Lilly doing?" I cooed at her. She was watching me curiously. I tickled her tummy and went over to greet Rose. The rest of the gang arrived shortly and we sat down.

"Edward, you are so lucky you snatched her up. The things she does with food, they should be illegal." I heard Emmett say between bites.

"Why do you think I asked her to move in?' Edward joked.

"Hey, I thought you loved me and that's why you asked." I pouted.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to upset you." He leaned in and kissed my pout away.

"Get a room, you two!" Rose said. We broke away and paid attention to our friends. After numerous praises of my cooking skills (I had no idea why they were making such a big deal), I told them to shut up or there would be no desert. That worked like magic.

"So, how does it feel to be living together?" Alice asked.

"Great." Both Edward and I answered at the same time.

"Aw, Rosie, remember how we used to be the same way?" Emmett asked, wrapping his arms around his wife.

"What are you talking about? We used to be at each other's throats in the beginning!"

"Not that. I mean the whole "can't keep our hands off each other" phase. Ah, those were the days."

"From what I can see, you two never got out of that phase." I said smugly.

"What can I say? I'm just that awesome." Emmett said. All of us laughed at his comment. Silly Papa Bear. Our fun was interrupted by a cry coming from our bedroom. Rose put Lilly to sleep away from all of the noise but I guess that only lasted for so long.

"I'm sorry but we have to go. It was great seeing you guys." Rose said, gathering all of her things. Everyone agreed that it was time to call it a night and we walked them out. I told Edward to go to bed since I still had to clean up. He tried to argue but I was more stubborn. I quickly cleaned everything up and crawled into the bed. I snuggled into Edward's side and fell asleep instantaneously.

***

"Explain to me again why I'm letting you torture me?" I groaned.

"Because we're going out for your birthday and you want to look good for Edward." Alice answered.

That's right, my birthday. I was hoping Alice forgot about that but no, Pixie had a grand evening planed. I tried to back out of it but her pouting finally won me over. Plus, she said that we could also do a belated birthday celebration for Edward. I was surprised that no one told me about his birthday back in June. When I questioned him, he simply told me he had nothing to celebrate back then. I've received all of the birthday wishes this morning and even got a day off from work. I tried to argue but Edward would have none of it.

So here I was- being made up by Alice. It's not that I hated it; it's just Alice took her sweet time doing my make-up and hair. At least, she didn't fight me on my dress choice for long. I decided to wear the blue dress I wore in California. Edward REALLY liked it. Once I explained that to her, she backed away. She did, however, get a new pair of shoes for me. I stopped complaining about her shopping habits, knowing well enough it could always be worse.

"Okay, I'm done. You are free to go." I thanked her and went to put my dress and shoes on. Alice chose a pair of dark blue pumps to go with the dress. I walked out into the living room to find all of girls and Emmett sitting on the couch. Jasper, Edward, and Ben were still at the office, working on something last minute. The girls seemed engrossed in some conversation so I cleared my throat, gaining their attention.

"Well, no wonder he likes the dress so much." Alice spoke up. Everyone's eyes turned to me. I felt a bit awkward on the display but seeing their shocked expressions really made it worthwhile. "You're welcome, by the way." The Pixie grinned wickedly at me.

"Okay, enough ogling. I want to look at everyone else's dresses." I demanded.

The three of them stood up and my jaw dropped. They all looked gorgeous. Rose had a red mini dress on that showed off her figure. I thought it was a bit unfair how she lost most of her baby weight within the month. Alice wore a hot pink dress with a balloon skirt and Angela had a green dress on. And then I saw something glittering on her left hand.

"Is there something you would like to tell me, Angela?" I asked, pointing to her engagement ring. I ran towards her and hugged her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It just happened yesterday." She gushed.

"Oh, my goodness!" I squealed. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks. Ben really surprised me with this." She gushed.

At that moment, the front door opened and the guys came in. Edward was the last one in and the moment he saw me, he stopped dead in his tracks. I slowly made my way over to him and heard him let out a groan.

"Are you trying to kill me, love?" He whispered as I embraced him.

"Nope, just wanted you to enjoy tonight."

"Oh, I'm already enjoying it. How about we ditch everyone and go back to our place?"

"As much as I would love to do that but you know the Pixie will not have any of that."

"Always ruining our fun." He pouted.

"I'll make it up to you later, I promise." I watched his eyes darken in response to my words.

"Okay, if you two are done, we would like to leave now." An annoyed Alice said.

"Wow, this place is amazing, Alice." I yelled over the loud music.

"I knew you'd like it!"

"Is she going to be like that the whole time?" I pointed to Rose who was on the phone with Esme.

"Well, it is her first night away from Lilly." Alice shrugged. It was quite an achievement for Rose to leave her baby with Esme. It took two weeks for Alice to convince Rose to come out with us. I was actually surprised she caved in. Then again, it was Alice we were talking about. Angela and Ben were in their own little bubble. I didn't blame them.

"Bella!" Alice screamed as a new song came on.

"What?"

Without another word, Alice dragged me to the dance floor, bouncing to the beat. We started dancing together, showing off our best moves. There was a lot of shaking of certain parts and a bit of grinding happening. Some guys stopped dancing and just stared at us. I scoffed and pointed that out to Alice. She shook her head at their stupid behavior and continued dancing. By the end of the song, I felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around me.

"Did you enjoy the show?" I asked innocently.

"Oh, very much so." Edward breathed down my neck. I spun in his arms and kissed him hard. A new song started playing and we moved to the beat without breaking apart. I finally decided to come up for much needed air and slowly broke away. I looked up as saw Emmett waving his hands over his head. I laughed and pointed that out to Edward.

"I think he's trying to get our attention." He chuckled.

"You think?" Only Emmett would do that. We made our way back to the table. Everyone was sitting with drinks in their hands. Well, Rose was still staying away from alcohol.

"So, here's to the birthday girl!" Emmett raised his glass.

"And the happy couple-Ben and Angie." I added. After the toast, we launched into various conversations. Couple of hours later, I heard Edward whisper.

"Want to get out of here?" I nodded. We said our good byes and headed to our place. After all, I did promise to make it up to him.

***

"Yes, mom. Both of us will be coming." I was on the phone with Renee, reassuring her yet again that both Edward and I would be coming for Thanksgiving. I've asked Edward about it and was happy beyond reason when he agreed to go with me. We would only be able to spend one full day with them but at least it was something. I think he was feeling a bit nervous about meeting my parents. I pointed out to him that I've gone through that already and it was his turn. We were leaving tomorrow and arriving in Forks in the evening. We would spend Thursday there and head back on Friday morning. And I was thrilled beyond reason that I could get out Black Friday shopping with Alice. Plus, the Hales were finally visiting their kids. It's the small things in life that make one happy.

We landed in Port Angeles and rented a car for the rest of the way. Edward being Edward rented another Volvo. It was silver this time. I scoffed when I saw the car. I volunteered to drive since he didn't know the way. Towards the end of the drive, I could see him begin to fidget. I placed my hand on top of his in a reassuring gesture.

"Stop freaking out. It's going to be okay." I said.

"Yea, right. At least when you met my parents, they didn't have a gun collection in their possession."

"My dad will no shoot you. I'll make sure of that." I pulled into the driveway. Edward got out first, opening my door first and then the back door to get our things. "You ready?" I asked, taking him by the hand.

"Let's get this over with." He let out a shaky breath. I did not understand why he was so nervous. I made sure to tell Charlie to keep his guns to himself.

"Charlie, the kids are here." A very excited Renee said when we rang the doorbell. "Come in, come in." She ushered us inside.

"Mom, dad, this is Edward. And these are my parents-Renee and Charlie." I introduced them.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Swan. You have a lovely home." Edward was his usual charming self.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you. Bella here has not been able to shut up about you." Renee winked at me.

"Mom." I hissed. My face turned red with embarrassment.

"What? I'm sure the boy knows how crazy you're about him." She said innocently.

"And I'm just as crazy about your daughter." Edward turned up his charm.

"Well, now that we're all been introduced, would you like something to eat?"

"Can we go and put our things upstairs first?" I asked.

"Sure."

I led Edward upstairs into my room. I wondered if Renee changed anything. I got my answer when we walked in. It was still the same with the exception of the new bed. It now had a queen sized bed instead of my old twin one. Well, at least the two of us would be comfortable.

"You have a nice room."

"Don't judge. It's been a while since the last time I've slept here."

"No, I mean it. It's very you." He smiled. I quickly unpacked everything and hung our things in the closet. When we came down, Renee asked me to help her in the kitchen.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked before I left Edward alone with my father.

"I'll be fine, love. I have it on good authority that your father will not shoot me."

"Kay, have fun bonding." I smiled and went into the kitchen. "So what do you want me to do?" I asked my mom.

"Oh, just keep an eye on the pasta." She checked on the chicken in the oven. "So, Edward seems nice. And he's gorgeous too." She gushed.

"That he is." I agreed. I poked my head out to check on him. He and Charlie seemed to be having some sort of conversation. Well, at least they were getting alone. "I see dad's behaving."

"Yea, I told him he better."

I drained the pasta and Renee announced that the chicken was ready. We quickly put everything together and carried it to the table. We called out to boys to let them know dinner was ready. I noticed that as they entered, Charlie patted Edward on the back. Huh, I guess he approved. Tonight was my turn to be embarrassed about the stories of my childhood. Edward loved every minute of it. By the time we were done, it was pretty late. I let Edward take a shower first and stayed with my parents downstairs.

"So, dad. What was that pat on the back for?"

"I like the guy. He's good for you." He grinned at me. I had a feeling he wasn't telling me something but let it go.

"That's good to hear." I heard the door upstairs opening and bare feet paddling towards my room. Ah, Edward was done. "Mom, will you need any help tomorrow?" I asked.

"No, I have it under control. Why don't you show Edward around tomorrow?"

"Yea, I was thinking of taking him to La Push."

"Good idea. Alright, I think we should all go rest."

I took a quick shower and climbed under the covers into Edward's waiting arms. I snuggled to his side and wished him a good night. I felt him kiss my forehead before I let sleep overtake me.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty." I heard Edward's voice.

"I don't want to." I mumbled into the pillow.

"Come on, love. I want to see the wonderful town of Forks." He reached to tickle me on my side. I squirmed under his touch, trying to escape it. I was laughing uncontrollably until I gave in.

"Okay, okay. I'm up." I yelled.

"Good morning." He leaned in for a kiss.

"Good morning, honey." I said against his lips. It was my new thing, calling him ridiculously sweet names.

"Okay, go get ready because your mom made breakfast." My stomach growled at his words. I quickly washed up and picked a warm outfit. It would be cold at the beach and I didn't want to freeze my butt off. For some unknown reason, I decided to skip out on coffee, instead choosing hot tea. Renee made scrambled eggs and pancakes. I showed a plateful, feeling particularly hungry. I got weird looks from everyone.

"What, I'm hungry." I defended myself. I got a collective "Uhu". I chose to ignore them and enjoy my breakfast. Once we were done, I grabbed the keys and Edward.

"We'll be back soon." I called out as we walked out the door.

"So where are you taking me?"

"A little place known as La Push. It's an old Indian reservation and there's a beach there. It's very beautiful." I explained. We arrived there shortly and I parked the car. I took Edward's hand and we walked towards the water. "You better not be throwing me into the water this time." I warned him.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He said, stepping behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. "You were right, it's beautiful here."

"Yea, I used to spend a lot of time here during the summer. There were a lot of kids here from the reservation. Of course, once they grew up, they left this place. Now, there's only the older generation living here."

"It's only natural." Edward said. I leaned back into this touch and enjoyed the simple things in life. After all, that's all I needed-just him by my side. I felt him remove his hands and turned to face him, trying to figure out why. I gasped at what I saw. Edward bent down on one knee and took my left hand his.

"Isabella, I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. And when I saw you holding Lillian, in that moment, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to grow old with you; I want to have a family with you. But most of all, I want to love you." He reached into his pocket and took out a small box. "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Edward asked as he opened the box.

I felt tears running down my face and couldn't find my voice to answer him, so I nodded "yes". He beamed at me as he slid the ring on my finger. Edward then stood up and I launched myself at him, kissing him, hoping it would show how much I loved him. I felt him bring me closer into him and lift me of the ground. He finally put me down, never letting go of me.

"You have no idea how happy you've made me." He said against my hair. We stood like that until I started feeling a bit cold. "You're shivering. I think we should head back." Edward said.

"Yea, I think it's a good idea." He intertwined our hands and we walked back to the car. I had the biggest smile on my face as we drove home. I could see a matching smile on Edward's face. I've never felt happier in my life. I think Renee figured out that something has happened right away. Without a word, I lifted my left hand, showing her the ring.

"Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed, pulling me into a hug. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you." She then moved on to Edward and I walked over to Charlie.

"Congratulations, sweetheart." He also hugged me. "I know he'll make you happy."

"Thank you, daddy." I whispered. He walked over to Edward and shook his hand. "That's all he gets?"

"Well, I already gave him my blessings last night, so yea." I looked in shock at the two of them. I guess they got along better than I thought.

"Oh, Bella would you be a dear and run to the store before it closes? I completely forgot to buy some wine for the dinner." Renee asked. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was already one thirty. Huh, we spent quite a long time at the beach.

"Sure. Is that all you need?"

"Yes."

I walked out and Edward followed.

"So you're ready to see the only supermarket in Forks?"

"I can't wait!" He feigned excitement

"You're silly." I patted his knee.

"Only when I'm with you." I rolled my eyes and drove for five minutes to the store. Yep, that's how long it took to get to the supermarket. I saw that they would be closing at two and quickly made my way towards the correct aisle. On the way there, I passed the fish counter. The moment I smelled the fish, I felt sick.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked.

"Yea, I'll be fine." I waited for it to pass over before moving on. I selected two bottles and headed for the register, making sure I avoided the fish. "Want to see the rest of the town?" I asked once we were in the car.

"Sure."

We drove around and I showed him where I went to school, small store that had the best homemade ice cream, pizza place, lastly, the little park where I spent a lot of time. We actually got out of the car and went over to the swings.

"You know, I could definitely picture a five year old version of you on this swing." He smiled, pushing me lightly on the swing.

"I'm sure you'll see a photo of that. I think Renee will breaking out the family album after dinner." I jumped off the swing and took his hand in mine. "You want to go for a little walk? We still have a little bit of time." He nodded and we ventured into the small forest that surrounded the playground. It was pretty much empty since everyone was inside preparing dinner. We walked around for a bit, enjoying the crisp, fresh air and each other's company. I've been warned that it would get pretty busy at work after Thanksgiving. I didn't mind since it meant that the workdays would go by faster.

"Thank you for showing me the town." Edward said once we were on our way home.

"It's not much but it's home." I smiled.

"Ah, there you two are. Your father was about to call a search party." Renee greeted us.

"Sorry, I wanted to show Edward the town."

"It took you that long?" Charlie snorted. I took the bags from Edward and left him with my father again. Maybe by the time dinner would be ready, they'd plan our wedding.

"I'll set up the table, mom."

"Oh, thank you sweetheart. You know where everything is at."

I set up the table and helped Renee around the kitchen. Half an hour later, the food was ready and we all sat down. Edward offered me wine but I scrunched up my nose at the smell. I passed on drinking it tonight and got up to get some juice. Renee walked in after me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea. It's just the wine. Made me a bit nauseous." I filled my glass with water and took a sip, hoping it would help.

"You're usually okay with it, though."

"Yea, I don't know what the problem is today. The smell of fish also made me sick."

"Oh."

"Yea, I just think I'm under stress. You know, work and everything."

"I'm sure." Renee said with an all knowing smile on her face.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Now how about we go back to the table?" She pushed me in the direction of the dining room before I could say anything.

The rest of the evening went by well and just like I predicted, Renee pulled out an album with my old pictures. I face was red hot with embarrassment by the time we were done with it. Edward and I headed to bed earlier than usual since we'd be leaving at five in the morning tomorrow. I fell asleep quickly in his arms as he hummed my song.


	10. LIfe's Full of Surprises

**Please don't hate me!!! I didn't realize which chapter this one would be until I made a decision to post it. I know it sucks waiting an extra week for the next one and I'm really sorry. To make up for that, I'll update on a Monday instead of a Wednesday...and who knows, I might even do a double post for that week. Depends on how well I'll switch back to US time (Yea, I'm flying home on the 29th!!!).**

**Just so you know, I won't be able to read your death threats until the 27th (insert evil laugh here).  
**

** Anyways, enjoy this one. It was a bit tough to get out but it's crucial to the story.  
**

**Kylie Minogue-2 Hearts/Staind-Raining Again**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, no matter how much I want it to be.**

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"Holy crap! That's a huge rock!" Alice exclaimed, Angela and Rose nodded in agreement.

"I know. It's beautiful." The ring had a big round stone in the middle, surrounded by a circle of smaller stones. Also, smaller stones covered the entire band. I didn't take a closer look at the ring until we were on the plane. Edward explained to me that the ring belonged to his grandma and she gave it to him before she passed away. I hated to bring the subject up but I asked why Victoria had a different ring on when I saw her. He said that she thought the ring was too old. Apparently, it wasn't good enough for her. I scoffed and said that she was an idiot.

"So, when's the wedding?" A very excited Alice asked.

"Alie, we just got engaged. We haven't really talked about it yet."

"But there's so much to plan. We have to find you a dress and then bridesmaid's dresses. Ooh, color scheme. And then there's church and the reception place. Oh, and guest list." She kept rambling on.

"Breath, Alie, breath." I attempted to calm her down. "When is your wedding?" I turned to Angela.

"We haven't set the date yet. Ben's been pretty busy at work. I think we might end up waiting until next year."

Lillian started to wake up, making her presence known. Rose took her out of the stroller and gave her a bottle. I smiled, watching Rose interact with her daughter. Motherhood definitely agreed with her.

"How is my niece doing?" I asked.

"She's an angel so far. She sleeps through most of the night." Rose smiled. Lillian had her mother's beautiful blond her and blue eyes. We were still trying to figure out if her eyes would change to Emmett's gray or stay blue, like Rose's. Her facial features definitely showed that she was her mother's daughter. Once Lillian was fed, I motioned for Rose to give her to me. I carefully placed her in my arms and started making silly faces at her. She was watching me closely, trying to figure out who this crazy lady was.

"She's precious, Rose." I handed her back.

"So anyways, here's what I was thinking…" Alice launched into her tirade.

***

Edward and I were able to go out with his parents to celebrate the engagement the following Sunday. They were thrilled to hear the big news. True to the prediction, work had been crazy the following weeks. So it didn't hit me until two weeks after my visit to my parents how much my eating and drinking habits have changed. I no longer drank coffee or any sort of alcohol, choosing green tea instead. I still stayed away from fish but ate more fruits and vegetables. I've felt more tired during the day and my clothes fit more snugly then they did before. At first, I wrote it off as the result of the busy workdays and maybe putting on a few pounds... but then it hit me. No wonder my mom figured it out before me. During lunch, I ran to the nearest grocery store to buy the test. I think I grabbed around five of them and after paying the cashier, went to look for a restroom. You would think five minutes is not a long time but it seemed to drag by. Finally, the time was up and I looked at the tests. All of them seemed to point towards one conclusion-I was pregnant.

I was happy beyond reason. I've been thinking about starting a family with Edward and from what he told me, he was looking forward to that also. Granted, I wanted to do that after the wedding but I was still excited. I quickly dialed the number of my doctor and set up an appointment for the first opening they had. On Friday, I would find out for sure. I was thinking of the right way to bring it up to Edward but realized that it would be a perfect Christmas present. There were around two weeks left till the holiday and it would give me a great way of surprising him.

I was on my way to my new favorite bakery when I heard my name being called. I turned around and saw none other than Jake standing in the street.

"Jake, is that you?" I said, running towards him. He laughed and lifted me off the ground, giving me a big hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed him. "Okay, okay, put me down." He did as I asked.

"It's so good to see you , Bells." That was his personal nickname for me.

"You too, Jake. Why are you here?" I asked. I knew he had a shop open in Port Angeles so I wasn't sure what he was doing here.

"I'm just here for couple of days. There's a conference and I decided to attend. You have time to catch up with an old friend?" He asked with a huge smile. I suddenly got a feeling like I was being watched. I quickly turned around but didn't see anyone. Weird.

"Sure, I have about twenty minutes. Let's go." I headed towards the bakery.

We walked into the place and I ordered myself a chicken sandwich and a blueberry muffin. They had the best. Jake grabbed us a table and asked me how life in Chicago was.

"It's great. I'm actually engaged." I placed my hand on top of his to show him the ring. He whistled.

"Nice."

"Ah, I forget. You're a man of few words." I joked, taking my hand back. "So what have you been up to?"

"Not much. The shop's keeping me busy. Started dating a nice girl."

"Yea? Anyone I know."

"Nah, she just moved to Port Angeles."

I looked down at my watch and realized that I needed to head back. I said good bye to Jake, telling him to call me next time he was in Chicago, and hurried back to the office.

"You look flushed." Edward said when he saw me. "Is everything okay?"

"Yea, everything's fine. So, the files?" I launched back into work.

I was feeling anxious as I waited at the doctor's office. Today I would find out for sure.

"Ms. Swan. She's ready to see you now." I got up and followed the nurse. They knew me pretty well here and were able to squeeze me in during my lunch hour.

"Hello, Lisa." I greeted her.

"Bella, always a pleasure to see you. So what is it I hear about you being pregnant?" She smiled at me.

"Well, that's what I'm here to find out."

"Let's not waste any time then. You know the drill-put the gown on and we'll do the exam."

"So have you had any morning sickness or anything?" She asked as she examined me.

"No, I haven't. I think that's why it took me a while to figure out that something wasn't right."

"Huh, you're lucky then." She rolled away from me. "Well, you're definitely pregnant, so congratulations." She smiled at me. A huge grin spread on my face as I finally got the confirmation I needed.

"How far along am I?

"About three months. I say the conception happened around September 13th or 14th." I smirked at her words. I could definitely see that happening during those days. We did do our own birthday celebration.

"How come I'm not even showing yet? I mean, I gained weight but shouldn't I be showing?"

"It's different for everyone. I'm sure you'll start showing soon." Lisa reassured me. "So I'm going to prescribe prenatal vitamins for you and set up the next appointment. Here's a list of things you should stay away from." She handed me a paper with a long list. "I'll see you soon. And once again, congratulations."

"Thank you."

On my way back, I was in my own little bubble. I was ecstatic! And that's why I didn't notice a man heading straight for me. Before I knew it, I was grabbed by my waist and someone kissed me hard. I raised my eyes to see James' blue eyes looking back at me. As quick as I could, I reached my hand behind his hand and yanked on his ponytail. He yelled out in pain and released me. That's when I hit him in the groin. He doubled up in pain and fell to the ground.

"You come near me again and you won't be able to walk for a month." I spat, wiping my lips in disgust. People, who witnessed the whole exchange, ran over to me to make sure I was alright. I said I was fine and walked back to work. The whole experience shook me up a bit. I never thought James would be stupid enough to come after me again. I think he got the point and decided against telling Edward about it. He would just freak out and kill James. I needed him with me.

It was on Wednesday that Edward called me into his office. I didn't think much of it since it was a regular occurrence. How wrong I was.

"Hi." I said, walking into his office with a smile on my face.

"Close the door, Isabella." He didn't return the smile. I was taken aback by his tone. It sounded dead and emotionless. He gestured for me to sit. "How long has it been going on?"

"How long has what been going on?" I asked confused.

"How long have you been cheating on me?"

"Cheating? Edward, I would never do that. I love…" He slammed his fist against the desk, making me jump.

"Don't you dare say you love me! Stop lying to me!" He roared.

"Edward, what are you talking about?" I was beginning to feel scared.

"This." He spat, sliding three photographs towards me. I looked at the first one and gasped. It was a photo of James and me, when he kissed me in the middle of the street. My hand was raised, as if I was wrapping it around his neck. The photographer must have snapped it right before I yanked James' hair. The next two photos were of me and Jacob. In the first one, we were hugging and the second one was of us sitting in the bakery, my hand over his.

"Edward, I know how this looks but you have to believe me…"

"Have to? Oh, that's rich, Isabella. So how long have you been with James, huh? Probably right after the whole plan with Vicky fell through, right? Or were you in on it since the very beginning. And how about the second guy. Did James like sharing you or something? Obviously he didn't mind me sleeping with both you and Vicky." He said in a venomous tone. I recoiled as if he had slapped me.

"Edward, please listen to me. The guy in the photos, that's my friend. He was in Chicago for two days and we ran into each other. And the photo with James, I can explain that to." I pleaded.

"Of course you can." He sneered. "Well, Isabella, I'm waiting."

"I was just walking down the street and he came out of nowhere. He grabbed me and kissed me. I know it looks like I'm about to embrace him but I was reaching for his hair so I could pull it. And it actually worked and then I hit him." I finished my explanation.

"That's a lovely story. Did you come up with that all by yourself or did Vicky help you?" He was seriously starting to scare me. I stood up from my seat. "Now, what I would like to know is why you did this. Was it for the money? Are you that desperate that you would sell yourself for money?" Edward spat at me. I realized that it didn't matter how hard I tried to explain everything-he already made up his mind. It infuriated me that he wouldn't listen to me. "But I guess, it doesn't matter anymore. How unfortunate for you that your little scheme was uncovered before you could get anything." His smile was anything but friendly.

"Wwhat?" I sputtered.

"We're through, Isabella. Did you really think I would keep you around once I found out? I have to admit, you were a lot more fun than Vicky. You must be a better actress than her." His words cut me like a knife.

"You really are stupid if you really believe any of that, Edward." I said, matching the venom in his voice. "I don't want your money. I never did." I took the ring off and threw it at him. It landed loudly on the desk. "All I ever wanted was you. You were it for me. I didn't want anything else because you were enough for me." I screamed, trying to get any type of emotional response from him. He just stood there. "I guess I wasn't enough for you." I whispered bitterly, knowing he could hear me. "Good bye, Edward." I ran out of his office and into mine. I grabbed my things and walked towards the exit. Tears blurred my vision as my mind caught up with everything. I just lost the only man I have ever loved. I ran into Jasper who must have been on his way to Edward's office.

"Bella, what's wrong? Where's..." His words got caught off by a loud crash that from Edward's office. He was momentarily distracted and I made my escape.

I made it to our…Edward's apartment and started pulling out my clothes. I stuffed them into two suitcases. I fished out my wallet and took out the credit card Edward had given me. I didn't want any of his money. I walked out of the apartment, leaving the key under the mat. He would find it eventually. I looked for a hotel that was furthest away from the apartment and checked in. I dropped everything on the floor and collapsed on the bed. How could everything change so much in such a short period of time?


	11. Existing

**You guys are amazing. I absolutely loved the response to the last chapter...exactly what I was going for. And since everyone's been so nice, I'm updating tonight (it's evening here in Copenhagen).**

**Gosh, I really hated writing the depressing chapters. Just bear with me. Feel free to yell at me. I deserve it, I know.  
**

**Britney Spears-Out From Under**

**Disclaimer: Why must SM hog Twilight? Didn't her parents teach her to share?**

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I was living in a haze. Edward's words kept repeating in my head, bringing more pain each time. I still couldn't believe it was over. Just like that. Who would've thought that three photographs could change so much. I hated James. I hated him for ruining me, for ruining Edward, and for ruining the future of our baby. My baby would never know his or her father because Edward wanted nothing to do with me. Maybe if I would've told him about the baby right away, none of this would've happened. Why was I stupid enough not to tell him about James or even about Jacob? I was dumb enough to think that James was through with me. I just never thought the price I would have to pay would be so high.

The only thing that kept me breathing every day was the new life inside of me. Even though Edward would never know his child, I would shower my baby with all the love in the world. I would always keep a part of Edward with me. A living, breathing proof of our love.

I've tried calling my friends but none of them picked up. I expected that from Angela and even Rose and Emmett but not from Jasper and Alice. They knew me. They knew I would never do something like that. I've left numerous messages but it was pointless. Why wouldn't they answer their phones? Did Edward hate me so much that he would prevent our friends from talking to me? I tried to push that thought away but it kept coming back. He wouldn't, right?

I've received a call from the pharmacy, letting me know my vitamins were ready. I picked them up and let Lisa know that I would be moving back to Forks. She recommended a good doctor in Port Angeles and wished me good luck.

On the fourth day of my wallowing, I was able to reach Jasper. I guess he got tired of my phone calls.

"Bella." He answered coldly.

"Jasper, I don't know how much you now but…"

"I saw the pictures, Bella."

"I know how it looks but you have to believe me, I never cheated on Edward. James set me up. He said I'd pay and this is his way of getting back at me. I just can't believe I didn't realize it earlier. And the second guy, it's…"

"Bella, I would really appreciate it if you would stop calling me or Alice for that matter. I'm sorry but pictures are proof enough. You have no idea how much you've hurt Edward with this."

"Jasper, you don't understand. I didn't sleep with any of them. Please! You know me better than that."

"I thought I did. I'm sorry Bella but I can't ignore these facts. Good bye."

"Wait! I know you don't believe me but show the photos to Alice. Tell her the guy in the photos is our old friend from La Push. She'll know."

"I don't know…"

"Please, Jasper. I'm not asking for much. Just do this for me." I begged.

"Okay, I'll do as you asked. Good bye, Bella." And he hung up.

So on the fifth day, I decided to leave Chicago. I was all alone. There was nothing left for me here, except for painful memories. I booked a flight home and called Jake, asking for a ride home. He was smart enough not to question anything. I didn't call my parents because I had no strength to explain everything right now. I was emotionally drained. I hoped getting away from here would help me. I also changed my number. It's not like anyone would be calling me.

So here I was, surrounded by people and yet I was all alone. Five more minutes and I would be on my way home. I got a strange feeling as if someone was watching me. I straightened up and looked around, my eyes finally landing on him. It took my head a moment to process the fact that he was actually here. He slowly stepped closer to me, an unsure smile playing on his lips.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in a harsh voice.

"I've come to ask for your forgiveness." He answered simply.

"You mean he sent you!" I said, crossing my hands on my chest.

"Not really. He doesn't know I'm here." He tried to smile but the look on my face stopped him.

"Like I would actually believe that." I spat out. "I think it's a bit late for your apologies."

"I know that, Bella, I know. But if you would just listen to me then maybe you'd…"

"Maybe I'd what? Do you know how much you've hurt me? How humiliated I felt that day? And did you do anything? No! You took his side. You chose him over me, even though we've known each other for much longer!" I realized I was screaming because I noticed people stopping and looking at us. I heard the screech of the breaks, announcing the arrival of the train.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, stepping closer to me. "You have no idea how sorry I am for not believing you. It's just the evidence he had… " He trailed off and reached out to touch me but I took a step back. I grabbed my bags and stepped towards the open doors. "Bella, please don't go. Please, you need to know..."

"I'm sorry, Jasper. It's just too late." I cut him off, swallowing back tears and quickly steeped inside. "Edward shouldn't send other people to fight his battles. If he wanted me, he should've been here." The doors closed and I watched as Jasper stood there, looking more hopeless than before. I felt tears run down my face and made no effort to wipe them away. They were a reminder of everything I've lost.

The flight to Port Angeles wasn't too bad. I've slept through most of it anyways. Jake greeted me once I stepped outside. He grabbed my bags and threw them in the back. I walked over to the passenger's side and got in. The inside of the car was nice and warm and I slipped back into dreamless sleep. I was awakened by Jake telling me I was home. He helped me with my bags, leaving them on the porch.

"Listen, I have to head back but call me whenever you get settled in. I'd like to know what happened."

"I will, Jake. Thank you so much for this." I hugged him and watched as he drove off. I heard the front door open and a very surprised Renee step out.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" She stepped closer to me. I try to say something but nothing came out. Instead, I found myself loosing conciseness. I heard Renee call out to Charlie before I slipped into darkness. I liked it here. I was numb. There was no pain, no sadness. I wondered if I could stay here for the rest of my life.

"She's been out for a while now. I think we should call a doctor." I heard a voice break through. I had to think for a moment to realize who the voice belonged to. Renee. I felt myself pulled back into the conciseness. I slowly opened my eyes.

"Oh, Bella. Baby, you scared us so much." Renee said.

"Could I get some water?" A glass appeared in front of my face. I drank it greedily.

"Honey, what happened? Why are you here?" She asked. I took a deep breath and told her what had happened. "I can't believe Edward didn't believe you. That…"

"Mom, please don't." I stopped her. I don't know why but I felt the need to defend him.

"But baby, look what he's done!" She exclaimed. I shook my head, begging her stop. I looked over to see my father standing in the doorway. He's been silent this whole time.

"Dad, say something." I was afraid of his reaction.

"I'm going to find that bastard and knock some sense into him." He whispered in a deadly tone.

"No!" I screamed. "It's not entirely his fault. Maybe if I would've told him about everything, it would all have turned out differently."

"What will you do now?" Renee asked.

"There's something else you should now. I'm three months pregnant. Dad, before you blow up, Edward doesn't know. I wanted to tell him at Christmas." I scoffed at my stupidity. There were so many if onlys in my head right now. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Probably look for some sort of job." I wondered out loud. Honestly, my plan didn't go past arriving in Forks.

"You'll stay with us. We will help you out." Charlie said.

"I don't know about that."

"It's not up for a discussion, Bella." He said in a firm tone.

"Thank you so much." I teared up.

"How about you get some rest? I'm sure you can use it right now." Renee said, kissing my on my forehead. "Sweet dreams, baby." Both of them stepped out of the room, turning the lights off.

My dreams were anything but sweet. I was reliving that day in the office. Only this time, I was further along in my pregnancy. "I don't want you or that thing inside of you." Edward spat at me. I woke up, shuddering. I was trying to normalize my breathing. I looked at the clock and saw that it was past midnight. I sighed and got out of bed. I was feeling hungry and headed downstairs. I rummaged through the fridge, finding some chicken and rice. I heated it up and dug in. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Renee appeared a few moments later.

"What are you doing up?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. Crap, I woke her up.

"I got hungry. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's fine. I know this is a stupid question but how are you holding up?" She sat down next to me.

"Like my heart was ripped apart." I confessed. "If it wasn't for this baby, I would probably just give up."

"Don't say things like that. Bella, you will get through this. You'll stay with us and your baby will have a family who will love him or her unconditionally." She reached out and rubbed my still flat stomach. I smiled at the gesture.

"Thank you so much, mom. For everything." I reached out to hug her.

"You're welcome, baby girl. Everything will be okay, you'll see. Now go and get some sleep. Okay?" I nodded and gestured for her to go back to bed. I washed the dishes and walked back upstairs. I didn't feel tired yet so I pulled a chair up to the window and just stared. I didn't realize how long I've been sitting like that until I noticed the sky lighten. I got back into the bed and fell into dreamless sleep.

Christmas came but I didn't feel like celebrating it. I didn't have much joy in me right now. I knew I had to snap out of this state. All of this moping wasn't good for the baby. And so, for my New Year's resolution, I vowed to become better. No more feeling sorry for myself. I had my loving parents who would support me and I was going to become a mother soon. And so I started making daily goals for myself. It started out small, like spending more time with my parents. They were ecstatic that I was finally coming around. I also called the doctor and set up an appointment. I started spending more time outside. All of the fresh air couldn't hurt. Plus, I knew taking long walks would help me out in the future.

Jake had called the house a few times and I was able to tell him everything. He was livid. He wanted to hunt Edward down and hurt him. I begged him to give up that idea. Jake also couldn't understand why Alice never came to my defense. I've wondered the same thing before and came to a conclusion that she couldn't go against her husband. Yes, we were friends but her loyalty was to Jasper. I could never ask her to go against her family. As much as it hurt me to admit, I couldn't stay mad at them. Only Alice knew about Jake. To the rest of them, he was just a guy who I was hugging and having an intimate conversation with.

In the period between three and four months, my body slowly started to change. My stomach was slowly growing, signifying that my baby was also growing. I was extremely excited when I first noticed it. It caught me off guard because it seemed to appear overnight. My hands were always resting on my stomach, caressing it. At four months, I had a very pronounced baby bump. You could definitely see I was pregnant. The doctor said that everything was good. My baby was healthy and I should expect her to arrive in early June. Yes, I was having a girl.

It was around that time that my parents decided to take their vacation. The three of us would be spending two weeks in Florida visiting a family friend. I was actually looking forward to getting some sun. So I did a lot of lying around the beach and soaking up the warmth. I did get a bit of a tan but I made sure not to spend too much time in the sun. I did a lot of thinking while I bummed around on the beach. I wondered what my daughter would look like. Would she have my features or would she look like Edward? Sometimes I pictured her with bronze locks and green eyes. Other times, she was a miniature of me. I also thought a lot about that fateful day. I've had enough time for the hurt to go away somewhat and I now saw the whole situation in a different perspective. I couldn't blame Edward for reacting the way he did. If I've gone through the same thing as he did with Victoria, I would also have jumped to those conclusions.

"There you are." Renee said as I entered the house. "So Heather and I were talking and we think you should stay here for a bit longer."

"What?"

"Bella, you're finally getting back to your old self. I think some sun has done you good. Why not stay here for a bit more before coming back to cold Forks?" She explained.

"I wouldn't want to impose." I protested.

"Nonsense. You're like a daughter to me and I would love to spend some more time with you." Heather said.

"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Well, I guess I could stay a bit longer. Maybe two weeks?"

"Perfect!" Heather exclaimed. "We're going to have so much fun! There are so many places I want to show you."

True to her word, Heather showed me some very interesting places. We drove down to Saratoga beach and enjoyed a lazy day on the beach. She also took me to some cute little shops that sold baby things. I bought a few items with the money left over from my job. Since my parents refused to take money for rent, I had a good amount in my bank account.

We have returned from one of our trips and I decided to go down to the beach. The sun would be setting soon and I loved watching it set. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold as its rays reflected against the water. The beach was pretty deserted and I sat down in the sand. I placed my hand on my stomach, feeling a particularly strong kick from my baby. She was becoming more and more active. I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the sound of waves crashing. It was then I sensed another presence but it was no possible was it could be true. Was I going crazy?

"Bella." I heard his voice call me. My eyes shot open and I slowly stood up, my hand still on my stomach. And there he was. Standing ten steps from me was Edward Masen. I kept staring at him thinking I was hallucinating and watched at he came closer. His eyes took me in and then landed on my stomach. I dropped my hand. I knew he could see my more pronounced stomach even though I was wearing a loose top. Edward stopped a few steps away and kept looking at me. I looked closely at him and noticed how tired he looked. His skin seems paler and there were dark circles under his eyes. What happened to him? And then everything came rushing back. His harsh words. My own pain. I crossed my arms protectively over my stomach and watched him stiffen at my new stance.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"How far along are you?" He asked me instead.

"Really, Edward?"

"Please, Bella, just tell me." Edward asked, sounding desperate. I guess he had some sort of right to know.

"Almost five months." I rubbed the spot where she just kicked.

"Five months." He echoed. He seemed deep in thought and then recognition flashed in his eyes.

"I'll ask you again: what are you doing here?"

"I came here for you." He kept staring at me. I scoffed at his words.

"I find it hard to believe since the last words you told me made me believe you wanted nothing to do with me."

"I know I said some harsh words then but, Bella, you have to believe me…"

"Why should I? I asked you to believe me but you just threw me away." I felt tears building in my eyes and quickly wiped them away.

"I know." He whispered. "Every day, I regret everything I said to you that day. If I only have listened to you for a moment, I would've known that you were telling the truth. Bella, I'm so sorry for everything. I let my insecurities come between us and I destroyed the best thing that ever happened to me." Edward reached out to me but I recoiled from his touch. His hand dropped to his side and he looked defeated.

"I don't know what you expect me to say or do, Edward."

"I don't expect anything. I know I don't deserve you after everything I've put you through."

"You're right, you don't. Not only did you break my heart but you also alienated me from my friends. Do you have any idea how it was to feel all alone? None of them would talk to me, let alone let me explain everything to them." My voice was rising in volume.

"I'm so sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it this time, Edward." I spat at him.

"You don't think I know that? But, Bella, I can't stop thinking about you. You invade my mind every moment of the day. All I can think of is what could have been. Our wedding, our house, and even our family. Please, tell me how to make it all better. I will do anything you ask but please, give me another chance." He begged. It would be so easy to give in. Our daughter would have a father and I would have Edward back. But would that be enough? Could I forgive him and more importantly, did I want to forgive him? The answer came instantaneously.

"I'm sorry, Edward. It's just too late. I can't…" I trailed off.

"Please, Bella. Don't do this. We can fix this. Please tell me we can fix this." He came closer and placed a hand on my shoulder. I let him because it would be the last time.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, tears running down my face. He nodded and stepped away from me.

"I understand." He chocked out. "Just know this, Bella: I love you and will love you forever. I will wait for you to come back, even if it means waiting for you for the rest of my life." And I watched the man I loved walk away from me, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I love you too." I whispered, sinking to the ground.


	12. Nothing But the Truth

**I am so happy you guys are relating with Bella and where she's coming from. This one explains pretty much everything...hope it meets your expectations and shines some light on certain people's behavior. **

**Dana Glover-Thinking Over**

**Disclaimer: Maybe it's a good thing SM owns Twilight. I'm way too mean to them. Poor things.**

* * *

"Mom, it's okay. You didn't know." I sighed.

"But I should have figured out that there was more to her calling than she was telling me."

I've been on the phone with Renee for the past half hour. Apparently, Alice had called the house, trying to find me. Renee was hesitant at first but gave in and told her I was in Florida with Heather. Of course, Alice knew where Heather lived. We spent one of the summers there. And that's how Edward found me.

"It's all over with now. I'm thinking it's good time to come back home."

"If that's what you want, sweetie."

"Yea, it is."

"Well, just let us know when you're coming back."

"I will. Love you, mom."

"Love you too. I'll see you soon."

Later that day, I spoke to Heather to let her know I was leaving. She dropped me off at the airport the following day, telling me to visit again and send lots of pictures of the little one. Life has settled in a comfortable pattern once I came home. Renee and I went shopping for baby things on one of the weekends. It was time to get ready for her arrival. I also picked out a name-Hailey. I haven't decided on the middle name. I figured it would come to me later.

Jake called me, saying he'd be in town and suggested to meet up. I missed him so I agreed right away. We decided to meet at the only coffee shop in Forks. It was usually very quiet. He met me outside and gave me a big hug.

"Ooh, Bella, you're getting big." He pointed out.

"Wow, you sure know how to charm a girl, Jake." I punched him in his arm.

"Ow!"

"Oh, please, you big baby. I'm sure it didn't hurt that much."

"How about we head inside before you beat me to death?"

He went in first and I followed. He stopped by some people but I couldn't see. Jake then moved, giving me the perfect view.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." I turned to leave. Jake caught up with me, blocking the exit. "Jake, you have five seconds to move or I will really hurt you."

"Bella, you should hear them out. Trust me, you will want to hear this." He gently pushed me in their direction. I realized there would be no way for me to leave so I went along with it. I pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Alright, let's hear it." I took my jacket off. Their eyes shot to my stomach.

"You're…you're" Emmett sputtered.

"Pregnant. Yes, I'm well aware of the fact."

"So that's what he meant when he said he lost them both." Jasper said.

"Is it?"

"Who else's would it be, Alice?" I was still hurt by their betrayal.

"Listen, Bella, I know we have no excuse for how we treated you after that day. So I'm not even going to try and justify it." Jasper spoke up.

"Good. Because I don't think you could say anything that would make it all better." I placed my hand on my stomach, feeling Hailey's kicks.

"All I, we, can ask is for your forgiveness. I know we don't deserve it but…" Alice trailed off.

"Alie, I know you guys are sorry, I get it, but I think I need more time."

"Of course. I never expected you to forgive us right away."

"Then why are you here?" I questioned.

"For you and Edward." Emmett said.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No. Ever since he came back from Florida, he hasn't been the same."

"Well, I haven't been the same since December and you don't see me complaining to anyone about it or better yet, sending someone else to do the dirty work for me."

"He didn't send us. He doesn't even know we're here." Jasper informed me.

"Right."

"I think you should know everything before you make a decision about us or about Edward."

"What good would it do? It's all over with. I've made my decision."

"I don't think so, Bella. If you really did, you wouldn't be sitting here." When did Emmett become so smart?

"Okay, so what do you want to tell me?" I had no comment to Emmett's words. I've been thinking over everything that had happened in Florida. Did I really make the right decision?

"Well, let's start from the day of. You remember how we heard the crash from Edward's office?" Jasper asked and I nodded yes. "Turned out, he threw some award against the wall. I've never seen his so angry before. Not even when he found out about Vicky. When I asked him what was going on, he pointed to the photos." I cringed, remembering three pieces of paper that ruined everything. "At first, I thought I was imagining things. I knew there was no way you could do that but then he showed me the note."

"What note?" Edward never mentioned anything about a note.

"The photos, they came from James. He planned this whole thing. He got what was coming for him but we'll get to that later. Anyways, like I said, the note was pretty convincing. James pretty much insinuated that you were out to get Edward's money and contacted him once Vicky was out of the picture. He then made it sound like you were trying to get out of the deal and that's why he decided to "help" Edward out. But it was the last line of the note that really drove it in. I believe his exact words were "At least she's a lot more fun than Vicky, don't you agree?" I gasped, because those were the words Edward said to me. "I called Emmett to help me with Edward. He was in no condition to stay at work. And when we got to his place, the apartment was empty. When Edward saw that your things were missing and you left his credit card, it finally hit him that you were actually gone. I think he lost it then. He kicked us out of the apartment and locked himself in. We decided that it would be best for him to cool off. We were certain that he'd snap out of it by the next day. How wrong we were. The next day, Edward was gone. No note, nothing. He just disappeared. We tried calling him but he turned his phone off. And then you kept calling everyone."

"I understand why Emmett or Rose wouldn't answer me. Edward is family. But Alice, why didn't you?"

"It was my fault." Jasper said. "I took her phone away and deleted your information."

"And stupid me never bothered to actually memorize your number. I had you on speed dial so I never thought I'd need to know it by heart." Alice scoffed. I turned back to Jasper.

"I know, Bella but I wasn't really thinking. I wanted to believe it was all a lie but you ran off. I think a part of me thought that if you would've stayed and fought, it would be easier to believe you. Stupid, I know but I wasn't thinking straight. And then you kept calling and I finally gave in. I'm glad that I did, otherwise we never would've been able to sort everything out. You see, after our conversation, I showed the pictures to Alice. She, of course, recognized Jake right away. I called a meeting and we came to a conclusion that if you were telling the truth about Jake, you were also telling the truth about James. It took us couple of days to track him down but we found the bastard. After some..ummm..persuasion, he caved in and confessed it was all a set up. He even said there were more photos and gave us the number of the guy. I have to admit, you have some great self-defense moves, Bella." Jasper laughed.

"Yea, I never want to get on you bad side." Emmett piped in.

"And that's when I tried to find you. You were pretty good at hiding, because by the time I made it to the hotel, you were already gone. Thankfully, the girl at the front desk was able to point me in the right direction."

"That's why you tried to stop me that day."

"Yes. I knew you were running away and I knew I hurt you a lot, but I had to stop you from making a big mistake. That didn't go as planned." He scoffed.

"I can be pretty stubborn when I want to be." I smiled. "I can't believe all of you did all of that." I looked at my three friends, regret still evident on their faces.

"It was the least we could do." Alice whispered.

"And Edward?"

"Like I told you, he had no idea what was going on. We thought he'd be gone for a week or so and then come back. By the end of the second week, we all got worried. We started looking for him. It took some effort but we finally found him. Emmett and I flew out to get him. He was living in some run down motel in Alaska, drinking his troubles away. You probably wouldn't recognize him in the state he was in. So we threw all of the bottles out and stuck him under a cold shower. When he finally sobered up, we told him everything. We even brought the pictures. And then, he collapsed. He…he…" Jasper shook his head, unable to continue.

"Bella, it was the first time I've ever seen him cry this hard." Emmet continued for him. "Even when our grandma passed away, he was able to hold himself together. You know how close they were. But when he finally processed everything, it was as if he just gave up; like he didn't have a reason to live anymore." He paused. I felt tears running down my face. And here I thought Edward was just living his life but he also suffered, just like me. "So, he finally came around after a week but you could see he was different. The life in his eyes, it was gone. He really became a shell of himself. We flew back home and he threw himself back into work."

"How did he find me? I know Alice called my parents' house but I don't know the specifics."

"It wasn't the first time I called your house." Alice said. "I've called before but Renee never gave me any information. When I first saw the photos, I kept calling you but I guess you changed your number. I tried calling the phone company but they wouldn't give out any information. Stupid rules. Anyways, I called all of the people we knew in college, thinking you were with one of them. And then I called Jake. He only told me that you were safe. So I kept calling your house, hoping Renee would cave. You have no idea how happy I was when she finally did. I went to Edward straight away and told him where you were. He was extremely hesitant about seeing you. He knew he messed up big time and didn't want to hurt you any further. After I knocked some sense into him, he finally went. I was hoping it would go better, though." Her face fell at the last words.

"Did you really think I'd forgive him?" I exclaimed.

"No but I didn't think you'd break his heart. Granted, you didn't know everything but now you do. And the two of you can work everything out!" She clapped her hands in delight.

"I don't think it's that simple, Alie." I frowned.

"Bella, you two are so in love. You can't just throw it all away."

"I know but…ugh, I can't even say it right."

"Bella, please promise you will at least think about giving him a second chance. He can't live without you." She begged.

"I promise, Alie."

"Okay, I have to cut this short but we have to head back." Emmett said, standing up from his seat.

"Thank you guys, for everything."

"Not a problem. I just hope it will all work out." Jasper said, reaching to hug me. I returned his gesture and also hugged Emmett and Alice. I sat back down, trying to process everything. I heard Jake sit down by me.

"So, what are you going to do?" He took my hand in his.

"I have no idea." I confessed.

***

Over the next couple of weeks, I was slowly rebuilding my friendship with Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie. Yes, all of them hurt me but they also attempted to help. I think Rose was the most surprised out of all of them. She started crying when she first realized I called her. We cleared the air between us once again. Jasper and Emmett were also grateful at my efforts to repair what had been broken. But it was Alice who was the most grateful. She feared our friendship was over with. We talked daily and she even kept me updated on Edward. I knew she was hoping we would get back together.

I've been thinking of him quite a lot these days. I've tried to imagine what he went through; how he felt. Yes, he hurt me but I also hurt him. You could say we were even. Not that it mattered. I thought back on why I was so mad at him. When I saw him in Florida, it wasn't about the pain he caused. No, I was mad because he took so long to find me. I realized that it was my pride that was hurt. Yes, my heart still ached but so did his. He suffered through our separation just as I suffered. While I imagined him living his life with no worries, he was rotting away in some crappy hotel. Did I really have any right to feel self-righteous anymore?

I've battled with myself for three weeks before coming to a decision. I called Alice and asked her to do a favor for me. When she found out what I needed, she was more than happy to help. The Pixie had a good feeling about this. I really hoped she was right.

***

It was now the second week of March and the weather seemed to change for the better. I wouldn't say it was warm out but it was certainly not as cold. I made a habit of going to La Push every day to breathe in the fresh air. Today was no exception. I always took a blanket so I could sit on the sand. I was currently sitting and enjoying the sounds of nature when I felt him. Even after all of this time, I sensed his presence. I slowly stood up, supporting my weight and watched his approach. I had to admit, he looked a bit better since the last time I saw him.

"Edward." I breathed out when he was a few steps away from me. Then, I saw his face. "What happened?" His left cheek was redder than the other.

"Renee." He explained.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. I deserved it. Actually, I deserved a lot worse, so I got off easy."

"What did Charlie do?" I checked for any other bodily damages.

"He showed me his gun collection and made sure to remind me that he knew how to use every one of them."

"I…I don't even know what to say." I was at loss for words. Both of them promised to be civil towards him.

"There's nothing to say." He involuntarily reached for me but caught himself, lowering his arm. "Bella, before you say anything, I need to get some things off my chest. It won't take long, I promise." I gestured for him to continue. "I know everyone spoke to you and they told you what happened back then. I only wish I was the one to tell you all of that. I just want to explain my reaction to James' allegations. After the whole ordeal with Victoria, I was so afraid because I fell so hard and fast for you. I kept thinking that it was too good to be true and you would disappear at any moment. But you didn't and I began to think that everything would be okay. I probably should have said something to you but I didn't want to bother you with my insecurities. And when the package from James came, I just lost it. I tried my best to doubt it all but the evidence was hard to deny. I should have listened to you, I realize that now. And then I found our apartment empty and I realized that you were really gone. I locked myself in there and wallowed in my own misery. Next day, I went down to the airport and bought tickets to the first flight out and that's how I ended up in Alaska. I'm still ashamed of how I behaved there and if it wasn't for Emmett and Jasper, I would have drank myself to death. But Bella, when they showed me the rest of the photos, that's when it all came down. I destroyed not only my own life but also yours. So when I came back to Chicago, I buried myself in work and tried not to think of you. I knew there would be no way you would ever take me back, so why bother? But I couldn't stop thinking of you. Every day, I wondered where you were, if you were happy. When Alice came to me and told me she found you, I was relieved. That meant you were doing okay. I didn't want to bother you. I figured you probably moved on but Alice kept pestering me about it. She helped me realize that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't try to go after you. And so I did. When I saw you sitting on the beach, I immediately remembered California and how happy we were back then. I knew we couldn't go back to that place but I hoped we could at least try. And when you told me how far along you were, I just…" He stopped to take a long breath. I couldn't help but notice that Hailey was exceptionally active while Edward spoke. I guess our daughter liked hearing her father's voice. The same thing happened in Florida but I wrote it off on me being stressed. Then, Edward continued. "I know you've already made a decision and I will respect it. Emmett told me that you all were working on rebuilding your friendship. I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to worry about me. I will keep my distance if you ever visit them. You will not have any interference from me."

By the time he was done, I had tears in my eyes. I wiped them away and trying to calm myself down. This man bared his soul to me, thinking he would never see me again. I just hoped he would be able to forgive me.


	13. Taking Back My Love

**Happy Wednesday, everybody!!! It feels so good to be home (finally). No more exchange student diet, which consisted of lots of pasta and rice. I don't think I'll be able to eat those two any time soon. Anywho, this is the last chapter and then an epi. I'm posting both of them because epi is kind of short. So, thank you very much for all of your reviews and your support with this one. It means a lot to me. **

**Nickelback-Far Away**

**Disclaimer: The awesomeness that is Twilight sadly does not belong to me.**

* * *

"Edward, you've been nothing but honest with me in our past two encounters. I owe you just as much." I took a deep breath. "I won't lie-you hurt me more than I could explain. And when I couldn't reach my friends, I thought it was your doing. I know better now. And then you came for me. Part of me wanted to run to you but part of me froze me in my spot. I realized later that I rejected you because of my hurt pride and not my heart. You see, I was mad because you took so long to come for me. I didn't know then what you went through." I stepped closer, taking his hands in mine. "Edward, I'm sorry for so many things. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jake. I never thought it would come back like that. I'm sorry I didn't say anything about James. I should have known he was up to something. And I'm really sorry for not telling you about the baby. I wanted to surprise you for Christmas. Well, that plan went up in smoke." I shook my head at how stupid it was of me. I looked back into his eyes. "Last time we spoke, I've made a decision not knowing the entire story, but I had a lot of time to think everything over. And even though we hurt each other so much, I can't seem to exist without you either. So, if you will have me after everything, I would like to give us another chance." I looked for any sort of answer on his face. He just stood there, looking at me. I felt tears pooling again. "Please. Please tell me I'm not too late." I whispered, lowering my head. I felt him drop my hands and a sob escaped my lips. He didn't want me anymore. Because of my foolish pride, I've lost him. I felt his lifting my chin so I could look at him. I closed my eyes for a moment.

"Bella," I opened my eyes as he whispered my name. "I told you I would wait for you and I meant it." Both of his hands cupped my face.

I gasped at his words. I searched his face for anything that would contradict his words but found nothing but love shining in his green eyes. I watched as he inched his face closer, stopping a few inches from my face. I saw a silent question in his eyes and closed the distance. We both were hesitant at first but our kiss grew more passionate after a few moments. I tried to bring his closer to me but that proved to be a challenge. Apparently being six months pregnant really puts limits on everything. I felt his hands slowly leave my face and trail down my body, finally resting on my stomach. I smiled against his lips as I felt Hailey kick against one of his hands. He slowly released my lips, looking down at my stomach in wonder.

"Did…" He trailed off.

"It seems your daughter just kicked you." I smiled at him.

"A girl?" He was yet to make eye contact.

"Yea. She gets very active when you're around." I confessed.

"She does?" He finally looked up at me, his green eyes shining. I nodded and reached up to kiss him. Edward, being the perfect gentleman, complied with my wishes. "Thank you." He said once both of us came up for air.

"For what?"

"For coming back to me."

"Thank you for waiting." I countered. I felt another kick and watched Edward's face light up in excitement. "I love you." I said, gaining his attention.

"I love you too, Isabella. So much." He embraced me, keeping me close to him. We stood like that for some time, just enjoying having each other back. For the first time in three months, I was at peace.

"I think this is my most favorite place in the world." I heard him say against my hair.

"Why?"

"This is where you agreed to be my wife and this is where you came back to me." He slowly unwrapped his arms. "I don't even have the ring on me but…Isabella, you are my only reason to live. You're my air and without you, I am nothing. I know we've had our share of bumps along the way and I've made some mistakes but I want to spend the rest of my life proving to you how much I love you. So will you agree to marry me...again?" The crooked grin appeared on his face. He looked so happy in this moment.

"My answer hasn't changed since the first time you asked me. When it comes to you, it will always be yes, Edward." I smiled back at him. He took my face into his hands again and kissed me hard. My heart could only take so much excitement in one day and I slowly pulled away after a few minutes. This time, Hailey kicked in the spot where Edward's body was pressed against my stomach.

"She really is active." He mused.

"I think she'll be a soccer player." Then I remembered something else. "Edward, I have to tell you another thing."

"What is it?" He looked panicked for a moment.

"Umm…I already picked out a name." I saw relief wash over his face.

"Is that all?" I nodded. "Well, which name?"

"Hailey."

"It's a beautiful name."

"I haven't picked out a middle name yet so if you want…"

"Love, I don't care about the names. As long as the two of you are with me, I am happy." He looked down again. "May I?"

"Go ahead." I watched as he lowered himself so that his face was on the same level as my stomach.

"Hi, baby girl. This is your daddy." He whispered, caressing my belly. "I want you to know that I love you very much. And you're going to be one spoiled little princess. Just promise not to tell mommy." I laughed at his last comment. Hailey was very active during his little speech as if she understood who he was.

"See, I told you our daughter loves hearing your voice." His face snapped up and I saw tears in his eyes. I reached down to wipe them. Edward smiled as he stood up.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're amazing?" He questioned.

"I remember a certain someone saying that to me before." I smirked. "I'm ready to go home."

"Of course. I'm sure your parents are worried." He took my hand in his and started walking to the cars.

"No, Edward. I meant going home to Chicago." He stopped and turned to look at me.

"Are you sure? I don't mind you staying with your parents for a while. I mean, after all…" I placed my finger on his lips, effectively stopping his rambling.

"My home is with you. So I want to go back home." I saw a smile forming on lips until it became a full blown crooked grin.

"But what about your parents?"

"I'll deal with them."

***

"Baby, are you sure?"

"Yes, mom. This is what I want." I said, gathering all of the baby stuff. I was leaving most of my clothing behind since I didn't fit into it anyway. "Will you give my clothes away?"

"Sure." Renee walked over to me and I stopped what I was doing. "You know I will support you in anything you do."

"I know, mom. Thank you so much. For everything you've done."

"You're welcome. But good luck with your father." I cringed at her words. I knew he's have a harder time with this. I was still curious to know what he told Edward.

"Well, I'm ready." I looked down at one bag I had.

"I'll carry this down for you. You go talk to you father."

I took a deep breath and approached Charlie.

"Dad."

"Bella, I'm not sure if this is such a good idea. I mean, do you really…"

"Dad, I've made my decision. I belong with Edward. Our daughter deserves to know her father."

"But after everything he's put you through."

"I know, dad, I know. But it wasn't entirely his fault. I've made some mistakes too. I love him, daddy, and he loves me. We've already lost so much time. I can't pass up this chance to be happy again." I willed him to understand.

"I know, baby girl, I know. I just wanted to make sure you were one hundred percent sure about this." He hugged me.

"I am." I confirmed. Renee walked down the stairs in that moment and the three of us stepped outside. Edward was waiting by his car. Charlie took the suitcase from Renee and walked towards the car. He and Edward exchanged some words before he walked back to us. I embraced two of them, promising to call and walked towards the car. Edward opened the door for me and helped me get in. I waived to my parents and watched them disappear as the car drove away from my house.

"Are you okay, love?"

"I am." I took his hand in mine and gave him a reassuring smile.

***

"Bella, two weeks is not enough to plan a wedding!" A very frustrated Alice exclaimed.

"Take it or leave it, Pixie." I wouldn't budge. "We've already decided to have it at the Masen's house so the only thing you have to worry about is finding the dresses and a caterer."

"Fine!" She huffed.

Over the next two weeks, we looked at various dresses. Alice kept throwing some of the most ridiculous dresses at me and I was growing more frustrated with her. It was during our last shopping trip, I was able to find the one. It was a very simple gown (at least Alice thought so) but I loved it. I told her and Rose to pick out whatever dresses they wanted. They picked out short yellow dresses.

So on the first week of April, Edward and I were finally married. We kept the wedding small, only having our families and close friends. This is what I imagined my wedding to be. We were surrounded by people who mattered the most to us. Angela's father was kind enough to officiate the ceremony. The moment he was given the go ahead, Edward captured my lips and reluctantly let go after Emmett told us to save it for the honeymoon. Since I couldn't fly, we decided to stick close. We spent a week at Lake Geneva. It wasn't a typical honeymoon but it gave us a chance to rediscover each other after months of separation.

After we came back, I made sure to visit Edward at work on daily basis. I would make lunch for both of us and we would eat in his office. Edward also made sure to talk to our daughter every day. She was very responsive to him. She also loved when he sang to her. His singing actually made her very calm and I used every opportunity to get him to sing.

Esme and Elizabeth took it upon themselves to convert the spare bedroom in our apartment into a nursery. I was speechless when I saw what they did. They chose pink, beige, and pink colors. It was a very bright room with light yellow walls, white dresser, pink curtains, and a beige couch. It was entirely perfect. I could already picture our little family in this room.

***

"And how are my girls doing?" Edward greeted as I waddled into his office. He got up and walked over to plant a kiss on my lips.

"We're good. Although, someone's being too active today." I smirked.

"Hailey, baby, are you torturing your mom?" He spoke to my very large stomach. I was a few days away from my due date and I was ready to meet my daughter. Today I felt extremely uncomfortable because it felt like she was doing cartwheels in there. I was also feeling some pain. It had happened before so I didn't think much of it. "Here, why don't you lie down on the couch? Maybe you'll feel better." Edward helped me to the couch. He put some pillows to support my back. I had to admit, he'd been extremely supportive these past months, even during my weird midnight cravings. The poor man had to go through so much lately.

"Thank you. I've made your favorite today."

"You shouldn't have. You should be staying at home, resting." He scolded but forgot what he was talking about as he pulled out the container. Who would've thought that a simple chicken parmesan dish could make him forget everything. "Oh my goodness, this is amazing. How did I ever get so lucky?" I snorted at his reaction. I never understood men's fascination with food. I suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot through my body and gasped in surprise.

"What, what's wrong?" Edward was by my side instantaneously, his lunch forgotten.

"Just some pain." I exhaled as it passed. "Nothing to worry about."

"How long?"

"Just now. I've been feeling some dull ache throughout the day but I don't think it's anything serious."

"Maybe we should go to the hospital."

"Edward, no. It's probably because I've been lying down. Here, help me up." He helped me get up from the couch and I told him to go back to his food. Another sharp pain shot through me and I felt something trickle down my legs. I looked down to find myself standing in a puddle. "Uum…remember your offer to go to the hospital?"

"Yea?" He looked up at me.

"I think I'll take you up on that."

It took him a moment to process the new information before he shot up from his chair, grabbed his keys and cell phone, and ushered me out of the office.

"Mary, I'm going to the hospital. Let Ben and Angela know they're in charge." He threw over his shoulder and then dialed a number. "Hey. Yea, I know. Listen, meet me at the hospital. Of course, why else would I be calling? Call everyone else."

"Emmett?" I guessed by his frustrated face.

"Sometimes the fact that I'm related to him scares me." I snorted at his remark.

We made it to the hospital in record time. It was the second time I didn't complain about Edward's crazy driving. I was checked in and in my room in minutes since mentioning Carlisle's name sped up the process. And then the visitors started arriving. Emmett, Rose and Lilly were first, followed closely by Carlisle, Esme, Edward Sr., and Elizabeth. Jasper and Alice were last to arrive.

"How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I've been better, Alie." All of women laughed at my remark. They already went through it all. "Any words of wisdom?" I questioned, looking between Rose, Esme, and Elizabeth.

"Yea, breath!" Rose smirked.

"Wow, why haven't I thought of that? Rose, you are brilliant." I said in my most sarcastic tone.

"Trust me, you'll thank me later." I felt another contraction come on and squeezed Edward's hand with all of my might.

"Just breath, love. It's almost over." He reassured me. "Good girl."

"Jazzy, I don't think I want to have kids." I heard Alice whisper.

"I think it's a bit too late for that, darling." He chuckled.

"What?" My head snapped in their direction.

"I wanted to wait until later but oh well. I'm pregnant!" A very excited Pixie was bouncing. A sea of congratulations filled the room.

"Congratulations, Alie. I really hope it's a boy because a girl would not be able to survive your torture." I smirked.

"Haha, very funny Bella. I love you too."

In that moment, Lisa stepped in and kicked everyone out. Well, except for Edward. He wasn't going **anywhere**.

"Okay, Bella, let's check up on you."

"Please tell me I'm ready to give birth." I whined.

"I'm sorry but you're still not ready. I'll come back in a couple of hours to see how you progress." She walked towards the door.

"Lisa, please send someone with drugs. I really need them right now."

"Don't worry. Someone should be here shortly."

True to her word, Lisa had someone come in and administer the drugs. They helped and I was able to sleep for a good period of time. Some hours later, Lisa announced that I was finally ready. And that's when the fun began. I've never experienced so much physical pain in my life than I did in those hours.

"Come on, love, you're doing great. Just keep pushing." Edward tried to help me.

"Yea, you try doing this and then we'll talk." I shouted.

"Come on, Bella. You're almost there." Lisa encouraged. I screamed as I pushed and was rewarded with a tiny cry. "Well, this should come as no surprise: it's a girl." Lisa announced as she held up my baby. "Edward, you want to cut the cord?" I let go of his hand and watched as he carefully cut the cord. Lisa then worked her magic and handed our daughter to Edward.

"Hello, sweetheart. It's so good to finally meet you." He cooed. "I think there's someone else who wants to meet you." Edward walked over to me and placed Hailey in my arms.

"Hi, baby girl." I whispered, looking at my daughter. She was staring at me with her big blue eyes. I really hoped she would take after Edward in the eye color department. She did have a mop of brown fuzz on her head.

"She's perfect." Edward said. I looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you so much, Bella." He leaned in and kissed me.

"Sorry, but we have to measure her. I'll give her back soon, I promise." Lisa said, breaking our little moment. I heard Hailey let out a cry while they were measuring and weighing her.

"She's fine, love." Edward reassured me, feeling my worry.

After Hailey was wrapped up and fed, we asked for our friends and family to come in. I was holding her when everyone burst into the room.

"Hey, Belly!" Emmett greeted me. "So where's the little bundle of joy?"

I handed Hailey to Edward and he turned towards them.

"Everyone, meet Hailey Elise Masen." Edward picked out the middle name a few weeks ago and I loved it.

He then passed her to Elizabeth, who had tears in her eyes. "She's so beautiful." She whispered, giving Hailey to Edward Sr. After everyone had a chance to hold her, she was placed back in my arms. I yawned involuntarily, feeling the events of the day catch up with me.

"Okay, I think it's time for Bella to rest." Edward announced and ushered everyone out of the room. "Why don't you give her to me so you can sleep?"

"Mkay." I agreed, passing her to him and watching Edward interact with our daughter. He looked so content, just holding her in his arms. I smiled and thanked the heavens for making my life incredibly happy.


	14. Epilogue

**This is it. Thank you so much for sticking with me. I really loved writing this one. **

**Lifehouse-Everything**

**Disclaimer: I only wish Twilight was mine.**

* * *

"Hailey Elise Masen, you better watch where you're going!" I shouted as my three year old ran off towards the playground.

"Love, you know that won't work with her." Edward said, coming up behind me and placing his hands on my growing belly. "How are you today?"

"Well, your son seems to think that I enjoy being kicked all day. He's even worse than Hailey was."

"Why is it that every time he kicks, he's my son but whenever he's calm, he's yours?" He turned me around so I would face him.

"Because I get to decide." I pocked my tongue out. Instantaneously, Edward's mouth was on mine and I lost any ability to think straight.

"Alright, break it up you two." I heard Rose yell across the playground. She was kind enough to keep an eye on Hailey while I was making out with my husband. We broke apart and walked over to her.

"Hello to you too, Rose." Edward said. "How is my second niece doing?" He peaked at the sleeping baby. Rose and Emmett welcomed a second daughter into the world four months ago. Madison Amelia took after her father, personality wise. Where Lilly was an angel when she was a baby, Maddie was a total opposite.

"Well, isn't this just a lovely picture!" I heard Alice exclaim. She was carrying Liam in her hands. True to my unintended prediction, Alice gave birth to a boy seven months after Hailey's birth. She and Jasper were ecstatic and were now trying for a second baby.

"Hi, Alie!" I walked over to her and took Liam into my hands. "And how's my favorite nephew doing?" I asked, tickling him. He tried to squirm away from my touch, laughing. "Okay, I won't torture you anymore." I gave him back to Alice. "Where's Jasper?"

"Oh, he should be here shortly. He and Emmett are picking up the food."

This was our tradition. Every Saturday, we would meet up in the park and grill out, when the weather permitted it. During the cold months, we each took turns cooking at our own houses. This way, we spent time together and our kids grew closer.

"What about Ben and Angela?"

"We're here." A very pregnant Angela waddled towards us, followed by Ben. He greeted us and headed towards Edward.

"Gosh, you look like you're ready to pop." I commented, trying to hug her.

"Ugh, I know. Can't wait for these two to come out." She was having twins and was due in two weeks. Both of them decided not to find out the gender but to be surprised. "So where's the food?" She looked around.

"It's coming. I hope the boys realize they have two pregnant women waiting for it." I laughed. As if on cue, Jasper and Emmett appeared, carrying two coolers. "Took you two long enough!" I shouted.

"Just be grateful we're feeding you, Belly." Emmett retorted.

"Don't forget about my mad self-defense skills, Papa Bear. You do not want to get me mad."

I sat down on the blanket while Jasper and Emmett cooked everything. I watched our kids playing together, reminiscing on the past three years. Both Edward and I were scared to death at first. We didn't know the first thing about taking care of Hailey but we had great friends and family to help us along the way. Edward was able to take only one week off at work but my parents were nice enough to come to Chicago for two weeks. Edward was grateful that I would have someone watching over me while he was at work. Elizabeth and Edward Sr. were kind enough to take my parents in since we didn't have a spare bedroom. I've learned a lot during those two weeks from both Renee and Elizabeth. I was happy to see how well they got along, the past mistakes forgotten. I chose to stay at home and take care of our little troublemaker instead of looking for a job after we passed the six months mark. Don't get me wrong, I would've loved to work but my family came first. Plus, my daughter was quite a handful.

Hailey had my heart shaped face, pouty lips (Edward's words, not mine), and my brown hair. She had big green eyes that reminded me of her father. She also had Edward's mischievous personality. But above all, she was daddy's little girl. There was no question-Edward adored her and she enjoyed every minute of it. I was amazed by their bond. Of course, Hailey and I had our own special bond. She loved listening to me read. I started reading to her almost immediately and our tradition continued from then on. Yes, she was daddy's girl but she was also mommy's angel. And she was spoiled beyond reason by both of her grandparents. Charlie and Renee tried to visit as often as possible and we even went down to Forks a few times. I was truly blessed.

"What are you thinking about, love?" Edward's voice broke me out of my memories.

"Just everything." I leaned against him once he sat behind me. He placed his hand on my stomach and started rubbing it. When we found out we were going to become parents again, we started looking for a new place. I think we've outgrown our apartment. Lucky for us, we were able to find a four bedroom house in a good neighborhood. I tried to argue with him because I thought four rooms was too much for us but Edward had his ways of persuading me. In the end, I gave in.

"Mommy, mommy!" I heard Hailey yelling as she was running towards us. She carefully plopped down in my lap. Edward had a long talk with her about being careful around mommy and the new baby. Hailey was thrilled to become a big sister. "Baby?" She asked, pointing to my stomach. I nodded, letting her know it was okay. The moment I started showing, Hailey made it her daily mission to talk to her brother. I thought it was precious. "Hi, baby." She whispered, placing both of her hands against my belly. I felt Anthony kick and Hailey gasped.

"See, that's his way of saying he loves you!" I smiled, running my hands through her hair.

"Alright, gather round everyone. Food is ready!" Emmett yelled, gaining everyone's attention.

Edward helped me up and grabbed Hailey so he could feed her. I had to admit, he was a wonderful father. But then again, Hailey had him wrapped around her little finger. Once kids were full, they ran back to the playground. Everyone seemed to go off in their own corners and I sat by myself in deep thought. Sometimes I wondered how much different my life would've turned out if I didn't come to Chicago. I couldn't imagine my life without Edward and our kids. Even though we went through some rough times, it was all worth it in the end. As long as we had each other, we could face anything.

"Hey, beautiful." I looked up into Edward's loving face.

"Well, hey there yourself." I stood up and wrapped my arms around him. "Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have you?" I whispered against his chest.

"You have it backwards. It's me who's lucky to have you." He kissed the top of my head. I looked up at him.

"I love you." I raised myself so I could kiss him.

"Love you too." He mumbled against my lips.

I smiled and leaned into him. I didn't know much about the future but I knew one thing for sure: our love was stronger than ever, growing more and more each day. We both knew what it was like to live without each other and that was something niether one of us wanted to experience ever again. We belonged together and nothing could tear us apart.


End file.
